A Change in Destiny
by RoxxiSanders
Summary: Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl? Rating may go up.
1. The Dreams of a Little Girl

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

* * *

Chapter 1 – The Dreams of a Little Girl

"Roxxi sweetheart, dinner is ready." Esmeralda Clarke shouted from the kitchen into the living room where her daughter sat drawing at the coffee table.

"Okay mummy, I'm coming in a minute." Picking up another crayon, a seven year old Roxxi finished off her drawing before putting the crayons back in the box and taking her drawing into the dining room. "Mummy look!" Holding up the drawing proudly, Roxxi tried to get her mother's attention.

Taking the drawing, Esmeralda looked at it before smiling and crouching down to eye level with Roxxi. "That's lovely sweetie, is this you?" Pointing to one of the figures on the page, she smiled when Roxxi nodded. "And who is this?" Pointing to another, she raised an eyebrow.

"That's Mr Tall, he runs the Cirque." Roxxi smiled widely as her mother's eyes widened in surprise. "Mummy?"

"What is the cirque sweetie? Is it a circus?" Roxxi looked confused before slowly shaking her head.

"No, it's a magical place…somewhere where it's okay to be different." Esmeralda's eyes widened slightly and Roxxi smiled.

"And where is this magical place?" Standing up, Esmeralda picked up her daughter and sat her down at the table before sitting down next to her.

"It's in here." Roxxi tapped the side of her head and smiled again. "It's a place I dream about sometimes. There was a massive war there but it's okay now…they called a truce." Esmeralda smiled and let out a small chuckle. "They did so everyone is okay again now."

"I'm sure that's right sweetheart." Once again getting to her feet, Esmeralda shook her head and laughed again. "Anyway, I'd better get dinner out; your father will be home soon." Roxxi nodded and looked up as her mother told her, "Be a good girl and go and wash up okay?"

"Okay mummy." Jumping down off the chair she was sitting on, she headed for the downstairs bathroom to get ready for dinner.

* * *

Half an hour later, David Clarke arrived home and walked into the kitchen. Wrapping his arms around his wife's waist from behind, he leant over and placed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Good evening, nice day?"

Twirling around to face him, Esmeralda smiled. "Hmm, I took Roxxi to the park and then we went to see my mum. Nice day at work?"

"Oh you know…the usual. How is your mother?" Pulling away, he looked over Esmeralda's shoulder and sniffed. "Mmm, something smells nice."

"Well you're just in time. We were about to start without you." She laughed and David chuckled.

"In that case, I'll help you serve up. Where's Roxxi?" Looking around the kitchen, he looked for his daughter.

"She's in the dining room." Esmeralda picked up the dish of paella and headed for the door. "Are you going to stand there all night or help?"

Rolling his eyes, David remained silent but picked up the bottle of wine and a glass of lemonade for Roxxi. Walking into the dining room, he placed a kiss to Roxxi's head and smiled. "Hello sweetheart and how is my favourite girl tonight hmm?"

"I'm okay daddy. I drew a picture today; do you want to see it?" Raising an eyebrow, she smiled widely when David nodded. Producing the picture, she handed it to David and grinned.

He looked at the picture and smiled. "That's lovely sweetheart, who is the tall man?"

"That's Mr Tall, he runs the Cirque." David knew about his daughter's dreams, she constantly told him of the Cirque and how she wished it was a real place.

"And who's the orange haired man?"

"That's Mr Crepsley and…and I think he needs my help." That was all that Roxxi would say on the matter but David and Esmeralda didn't worry over it; after all it was all in Roxxi's head…wasn't it?

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading now pretty please review and the next chapter will be up soon.

Things to look forward to in the next chapter: The introduction of a real life Crepsley into Roxxi's life and we'll discover what makes her so special.

XxxoxxX


	2. Dreams in Orange

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books.

Thanks for the reviews so far, they mean a lot.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

* * *

Chapter 2 – Dreams in Orange

"No…Cre…Creps…" Bolting upright in bed, an eighteen year old Roxxi Clarke wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed to herself. Falling back against the pillows, she tried to get her breathing to return back to normal. The dreams had stopped when she had reached the age of ten years old and the Cirque had faded into the background but lately they had been returning as nightmares. Every night for the past three weeks, she had been going to bed and waking up in the early hours, nightmares of blood, death and destruction filling her mind.

"This is stupid…it's worse than stupid…it's absurd. I haven't had these dreams in so long, why are they coming back now?" Speaking softly to the ceiling, she groaned and sat up again. Brushing a few stray dark red-black hairs from her face, she rubbed her eyes. Swinging her legs out of bed, she got to her feet and pulled on a dressing gown before slipping on a pair of flip-flops and heading for the kitchen of the flat which she was sharing with three of her friends. Roxxi was a Law student at university and had chosen to live away from home, saying that the space from her parents would make her independent and do both her and her family the world of good.

She was sharing the flat with three of her now-best friends. When the four of them had met, they had been complete strangers but over the months they had been at university, they had gotten closer and now were almost inseparable.

James Carter was a year older than Roxxi. He had started university the year before, studying Chemistry but after deciding that he didn't like the subject, he had started afresh and decided to study Law. He was taller than Roxxi with black hair and dark, emerald eyes.

Leila Seymour was the same age as Roxxi. She was a bright girl who was studying Biology at the university. She had dark purple hair and crystal blue eyes which a hazel eyed Roxxi was jealous of. She was Roxxi's closest friend and the two told each other everything.

Daniel Johnson was the oldest flatmate and he was twenty years old. He had taken a gap year in between college and studying Forensic Science. He was a couple of inches taller than James and had sandy coloured, spiky hair and dark brown eyes. He was James's best friend and had been like a brother to Roxxi since they had both started university.

Turning on the cold tap, she waited for the water to turn icy cold and poured a glass before taking a sip. Taking her glass out onto the small balcony, she looked out at the stars and sighed again. "Who are you Crepsley?" Her whisper was lost to the sky and after she had drained the glass, she turned and headed back inside, missing the flash of orange which hovered below her veranda.

* * *

The next morning she staggered into the kitchen, her hair wildly sticking up in all directions. "Morning." Her sleepy voice drifted out onto the balcony as she stood in the doorway.

"Hey, aren't you a sight for sore eyes this morning." Leila offered her a teasing smile and she chuckled softly. "You okay? You look absolutely knackered." She raised an eyebrow in question and Roxxi smiled softly.

"I just didn't get much sleep last night." Leila slowly nodded and watched as Roxxi sat down in the chair opposite her. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Leila smiled back this time and nodded.

Half an hour later, they were joined on the balcony by their other two flatmates who also questioned Roxxi as to whether she was okay but in true 'Roxxi style', she told them not to worry and that she would be fine after a good nights sleep.

The next night however, proved to be the same as the night before and at two o'clock in the morning, she was once again sitting up in bed trying to get her breath back. "Why me? Who is he and why does he come into my dreams every night?" Although her whisper wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, she was shocked when she received a reply.

"Who?" Looking up, she came face to face with a pair of warm, green eyes and smiled a shaky smile as light from the moon bounced off the familiar lip ring.

"James? What are you doing here?" Shuffling over, she made room for him to sit down.

Sitting beside her, he sighed. "I was still awake and I heard you shouting. I assume this is why you haven't been sleeping?" She silently nodded and he reached over in the dark and grabbed one of her hands. "Tell me about them."

"I…I…" Taking a deep breath, she sighed and squeezed his fingers. "When I was little, I used to have dreams of a place called the Cirque." James remained silent but raised an eyebrow. "It's a freak show but the freaks want to be there. They're treated well and everyone pitches in to help. There was a long war and then everything settled down and a truce was called but I haven't had the dreams since I was ten years old and now they're back." She fell silent and shook her head.

"I don't get it though, if everything was peaceful and the freaks loved being there then why are you having nightmares?" James's voice was filled with confusion.

"It's not like when I was younger. Things aren't wonderful anymore and there's a strange man who comes into my dreams every night begging for help. I've never seen him before in my life but somehow…it's like he's real and he needs me to help him." Her voice was filled with fear and James released her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Who is he?" She shrugged and he tried again. "Okay, what does he look like?"

"He has orange hair and a long scar which runs down one side of his face. His name is Mr Crepsley…that much I do know. He always dresses in red and he's surrounded by fire and screams and…and blood." Her voice was quiet but James had heard everything that she said. "It's like somehow, since I was little I've been destined to help him but I don't even know who he is."

"Then how can you help a man you don't even know?"

"I don't…I don't know but if I'm not meant to help him then why is he always there every time I close my eyes?" It was James's turn to shrug and she once again sighed. "Maybe I'm going mad…maybe he isn't real and I've just imagined him up."

"You know, they do say that it take someone mad to stick at studying law." They both chuckled and she smiled slightly. "Look, you'd better try and get some more sleep. We have an early start tomorrow and you're no good to anyone if you're half asleep."

Nodding, she said, "Yeah…I guess you're right. Thanks James."

"Don't worry about it, you'd do the same for me right?" She nodded and James pulled away before placing a quick kiss to the top of her head. "G'night."

"Yeah, night James." He left the room and she flopped back against her pillow, thoughts of the orange haired man still running through her head.

* * *

The next couple of weeks passed in the same way, one of Roxxi's flatmates would make the trip to her room to wake her up from the nightmares and she would tell them about her dreams which were getting more and more detailed every night. Tonight however, was different and it wasn't one of her flatmates waking her up. Snapping out of her dreams and bolting upright in bed once again, Roxxi took a deep breath and climbed out of bed before walking over to her bedroom window and looking out at the sky. The moon was especially odd tonight; a red fingernail shape which hung in the centre of the sky surrounded by millions of twinkling stars. "Now that is odd." Peering a little closer, she rubber her eyes to make sure she hadn't imagined it.

"You are not insane; the moon does look different tonight." Whirling around, she suppressed a scream at the sight before her. Sitting on the edge of her bed was a cloaked figure with orange hair.

"Wh…wh…who are you?" Pressing herself closer to the wall, her voice dropped to a terrified whisper.

"I think you know who I am and I think you know why I am here." The voice was neither menacing nor comforting…simply emotionless.

"Larten?" The word escaped her mouth before she could stop it and his mouth turned upwards into a somewhat sarcastic smile.

"I prefer Mr Crepsley." She said nothing and waited for him to speak up. There was a tense silence which lasted a good five minutes before he spoke again. "Do you know why I am here?" She shook her head and he sighed. "It is not nice to lie, Miss Clarke."

"I…I'm not lying…I…" Trailing off, she tried to stop herself from trembling.

"You have been having the dreams again, yes? Nodding again, she noted that the figured had tensed slightly. "This time they are more detailed, more clear, are they not?" Again she wordlessly nodded. "I am going to die." It was more a statement than a question and Roxxi bowed her head to look at the floor. "You have been dreaming of me since you were a little girl and I think that maybe you are destined to help me."

"I don't even know you." Finally finding her voice, she spoke up and watched as Crepsley rose and stepped closer to her.

"That is not strictly true, you have known me since you were seven years old Roxxi and now it is time…I need your help." His voice was a little softer than it had been before, his words laced with fear. "It is not my time to go yet, I need you to help me stay alive."

"I…I can't. I'm not special I…"

She was interrupted as Crepsley spoke up again. "But you are Miss Clarke, you are more special than you realise and I am going to show you how. I need you to come with me."

"I can't…I have a life here, I'm at university; I can't just leave everything and everyone behind." She should have been terrified, she should have screamed for help but for some reason completely unknown to her, she felt no need to. She didn't feel threatened and something deep inside of her was stopping her from calling out.

"The Cirque is real and it is in trouble. Can you not see that you are the only one who can stop them?" She shook her head slowly and he sighed. "The Vampaneze are coming, a new war is about to begin."

She thought back to her nightmares and sighed. "You have an assistant now, a boy named Darren and some day he will be your saviour…not me." Crepsley shook his head and she rolled her eyes. "I'm not coming with you, I can't save you." He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "No, I'm not going with you now would you please just leave?" The look in her eyes said it all and after a moment's hesitation, Crepsley nodded.

"Very well, you do not see it now but when you do realise…I will be back and you will agree to come with me." His voice wasn't threatening; he was just making a point but Roxxi shook her head. "I will see you sooner than you think Miss Clarke." With that, Crepsley turned and Roxxi blinked but when she opened her eyes, he had gone.

"I can't help him…I can't save something that isn't real." Whispering to the sky, she turned and climbed back into bed. Closing her eyes, she couldn't get Crepsley's words out of her head. What if the cirque was real…what if she had just condemned them all to death?

* * *

**A/N: **Well, that's the second chapter up. Pretty please review and tell me what you guys thought of it. The next chapter will be up ASAP.

XxxoxxX


	3. The Harsh Reality

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books.

Thanks for the reviews so far, they mean a lot and I must say I am surprised at how well this story has gone down so far.

Sorry for the slight delay too. I did say that it would be up yesterday but due in the spirit of Easter I went out and got tipsy then forgot to do it when I got home…oops.

Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors but I just wanted to get this up ASAP.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

* * *

Chapter 3 – The Harsh Reality

A week had passed since Mr Crepsley's visit and Roxxi was starting to doubt whether that night had actually happened or if she had imagined it. Wiping off the last of her makeup, she threw the makeup wipe into the bin and picked up her toothbrush. "I still say it isn't real. Maybe you dreamt it." Leila walked into Roxxi's bathroom and sat on the side of the bathtub. "I also can't believe you aren't ready yet…we said we'd be there at nine."

Smiling to herself, Roxxi shook her head. "No Leila, you said we'd be there for nine and conveniently forgot to tell me." Squeezing some toothpaste onto the brush, she started to scrub her teeth as Leila rolled her eyes.

"Okay so I forgot but I didn't realise you'd be working late." Roxxi had a part time job in a local restaurant and had only finished work at seven to come home and be told that they were heading out to a 'cocktail party' at their friend Sienna's apartment. "Anyway, quick shower…clothes change…make-up…hair and you're ready. So can you do all of that in ten minutes?"

Roxxi chuckled and spat into the sink before picking up the mouthwash, turning to face Leila however, she realised that her friend wasn't joking. "Well I might be able to do it a lot quicker if you leave." Leila raised an eyebrow and Roxxi rolled her eyes. "I can't shower with you in here."

"Oh…right yeah…sorry." She sheepishly smiled before heading for the door. "Look, I'll pick you out somethin' to wear and turn on the straighteners."

"Okay, I won't be long." Closing the door behind Leila, Roxxi smiled to herself and rinsed her mouth out before taking a shower.

Half an hour later, the two girls were walking down to Sienna's flat. Leila had straightened Roxxi's hair whilst Roxxi did her makeup and the fact that Leila had chosen an outfit for Roxxi whilst she was in the shower had probably saved them about an hour. "So, these dreams you've been having…" Leila started to ask her question but was abruptly cut off as Roxxi grabbed her arm. "Ouch, what's wrong?" Wincing at the death grip which her best friend had on her wrist, she tried to get Roxxi's attention. "Rox?"

"Did you see that?" Her eyes were wide, a look of confusion set on her face.

"See what?" Raising an eyebrow, Leila sighed happily when Roxxi released her wrist.

"There was…Crepsley and he…" Trailing off, she grimaced as she realised that Leila was looking at her as if she had gone mad. "Never mind."

She started to walk again but Leila pulled her back. "Are you sure you're okay?" Her voice was filled with concern. "You've been acting weird all week."

"Yeah…yeah I'm good." Trying to pull off a reassuring smile, she pulled away from Leila and carried on walking.

"Right…you always are." Muttering under her breath, Leila set off after her.

* * *

It was whilst they were at the party that things took a turn for the worse. One minute, everyone was dancing and drinking and having fun but the next…a strange feeling took over. Roxxi's eyes adopted a far-away look and Leila chuckled. "How much have you had…or what have you had?"

"Leila, she's only had two glasses of wine." Sienna's voice was filled with worry and Leila's eyes widened.

"You're kidding right? She's miles away…she looks high as a bloody kite." It was clear from the tone in her voice that Leila didn't believe a word Sienna was saying.

"I'm telling you the truth, she's only had two glasses and you know Roxxi better than I do but ever I know that she wouldn't take drugs." Leila raised an eyebrow and Sienna quickly added, "Not that I'd let anyone bring them into the flat."

Leila nodded and sighed before grabbing Roxxi's arm. "Roxxi?" Roxxi didn't respond, instead muttering lightly under her breath. "Rox?" Again she got no response so crossed to stand in front of her. Grabbing both of her arms, she lightly shook her and grew fearful when even that had no response. "Roxxi?" She was practically screaming now, desperately trying to snap her friend out of whatever trance she was in.

"Ah, it hurts…h…hurts." Pushing Leila away, she grabbed her head in her hands and started to wail painfully. "Make it stop…please m…make it stop."

"Roxxi, what's wrong?" Sienna carefully stepped closer to Roxxi and raised an eyebrow. "Roxxi?"

A few tears rolled down her cheeks and she pulled at her hair in a bid to take her mind off the pain from her head. "P...please make it go away." Her broken whisper scared Sienna who looked over to find a terrified Leila getting to her feet.

"We need to get her outside." With that, Leila grabbed one arm and Sienna grabbed the other and both girls half led/half dragged Roxxi outside. Once outside, Leila shook Roxxi again, this time more forcefully and Roxxi's eyes locked with Leila's. "Roxxi?"

"Wh…what happened and what are we doing out here?" Confusion filled her eyes and Sienna let out a relieved sigh. "You guys wanna explain why we're outside?"

"You don't remember?" Leila raised an alarmed eyebrow as Roxxi shook her head. "Wait here." Walking away from the two girls, Leila pulled out her mobile phone and dialled the familiar number. After a few seconds of waiting, she spoke into the phone. "I need you down here now."

Five minutes later, a breathless Danny arrived. "I got…got here as soon…soon as I…I could." Taking deep breaths, he leant over and grabbed his waist. Once he had recovered, he stood up and looked at Leila through confused eyes. "This better be good."

"It's Roxxi, I'm worried about her."

* * *

Shortly after Leila had explained everything to Danny, they had taken Roxxi home and told her to get some sleep but the next couple of nights proved to be tough work. Roxxi wasn't just having nightmares anymore, she was also sleepwalking and Danny had nearly had a heart attack when he had walked into the kitchen and looked out onto the balcony to see her trying to climb over the side. The other three flatmates would take it in turns waking up to check on her and after a particularly difficult night, Leila suggested that they call a psychiatrist.

That had proved to be a disastrous move when Roxxi had locked herself in her room and refused to come out, saying that she wasn't going mad and didn't need a 'shrink' to tell her what she already knew…that she was fine. The others didn't believe her however, and although it had broken her heart to betray her friend, Leila had called one the next day regardless. He had put Roxxi's sleepwalking, blackouts and headaches down to stress but when they had told him about her detailed, recurring nightmare; he said that he had never come across it before.

Naturally Roxxi had refused to talk to him about the dreams which had plagued her for the past month and hadn't mentioned that she had had dreams of the same place as a child. That same night, she had locked her bedroom door and told her friends not to worry about her sleepwalking because she wasn't going to sleep. They had lectured her about the importance of sleep but she had said that she was sick of waking from the nightmares and that if she wasn't going to get any sleep, she would rather it be from lack of trying to sleep rather than lack of being able to.

It reached half past two and she could feel her eye lids drooping but determined to stay awake, took another sip of the coffee she had made fifteen minutes earlier. She didn't even like coffee but if it would enable her to stay awake then she was willing to drink it. Another agonising five minutes passed and she rubbed her eyes tiredly. When she opened them again however, she groaned and muttered something under her breath. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you that the time would come. You have realised that what I said was true, have you not?" The voice was filled with smugness but she detected the hope lacing the words which had just been spoken.

Nodding sadly, she turned and sighed. "Yeah…you were right. I think somehow, I am meant to help you." The shadowy figure nodded and she wiped away a tear which had broken loose. "I keep sleepwalking, blacking out…I am scaring my friends half to death and it isn't fair anymore." Crepsley opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off before he began. "Listen, I don't know who you are or why it was me you chose but fine." He raised and eyebrow and she sighed. "Fine, I'll help you on one condition." He remained silent but looked at her and waited for her terms. "You stop me from sleepwalking and get rid of these headaches and blackouts I keep having."

"I cannot do that personally but I think that by helping me, you will help yourself and stop the blackouts yourself." She slowly nodded and swivelled side to side on the chair she was sitting in. "There is something you should know."

"Why do I get the feeling I am not going to like this?" Raising an eyebrow, she crossed her legs underneath her and waited.

"I will need you to come with me, are you willing to do that?" She nodded and he sighed. "There is something else however." She eyed him warily and waited. "It would be far too dangerous because of the war which is looming and…and the only way you would be safe is if…" He trailed off and sighed as she continued to silently wait. "I suppose what I am trying to say is that as long as you are a human, you are not safe."

"What? Why do you say that? And what the hell do you mean as long as I am _human_?" Her eyes had widened and he tried to figure out the best way in which to break the news which he had come to tell her.

"If the Vampaneze know about your special gift then they will come after you and one false move and you will be dead." He knew that he shouldn't really be so blunt about it, she hadn't known what to expect but it was better that he told her the truth than lying to her. "There is one way that I can keep you safe but…but you are not going to like it."

"Tell me." Her scared whisper confirmed Crepsley's suspicions that he should have been a little more sensitive about the situation but sensitive wasn't really his style.

"Become a half vampire." She looked at him as though he had gone mad and he sighed. "If you become a half vampire you will have extra strength and you will be able to fight when the time comes but if you choose to stay as a human then I cannot promise that you will live to see the war."

"I can't…how…and people say I'm the mad one." She rolled her eyes and Crepsley sighed again.

"I am telling you the truth; there would be no sense in me lying to you." She raised an eyebrow and he continued. "If you become a half vampire then I can protect you and in return you will help me to cheat death."

"But if I become a half vampire, won't I like…have to kill people?" An involuntary shiver ran down her spine at the thought of having to murder innocent people to survive.

"No, it is a common myth that vampires kill the people they feed off. We do not kill, we simply knock them unconscious and take a little blood the leave them to carry on with their lives." She nodded, feeling a little better. "It will be too dangerous for you to stay here…you will have to…"

Roxxi already knew what was coming and interrupted. "Die. I will have to die." Crepsley nodded and she bowed her head, hiding crystal tears. "I have to die and I'll never be able to see them again?" He shook his head and she let the tears fall. "I'll really never get to see my family and friends ever again?" Again he shook his head and she sighed. "I have to do this, don't I?"

"You do not have to do anything but I think deep down you know what you should do."

Roxxi nodded and stood up, walking over to the window and looking out at the streets below. "I just…I don't know if I can leave all of this behind. I have always had this normal, perfect life and now I'm supposed to just walk away from it…like nothing has happened." She snivelled and Crepsley reached into his pocket. Walking over to her, he handed her the handkerchief and waited. "Thanks."

"Please do not do that…I am not very good with crying." She smiled slightly and let out a small chuckle.

"If I say yes, and I said _if_, would I be able to have time to say goodbye to my friends and family?" He opened his mouth but she cut him off. "I know I can't actually say goodbye but you know what I mean…just spend a little more time before I go."

"I could give you a couple of days but that is all. Interested?" He waited silently for her answer and after a couple of minutes, she nodded.

"If it's what I have to do and if it will save me and my friends then yes." Crepsley nodded and she turned to face him. "You promise I can have a couple of days?"

"I promise." Holding a hand out to her, he raised an eyebrow. "Does this mean we have a deal?"

Taking his hand, she shook it and smiled a shaky, somewhat uncertain, smile. "We have a deal."

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading now please review and let me know what you thought. In the next chapter Roxxi says her goodbyes but will she really go through with Crepsley's plan? Hopefully the next chapter will be up in the next few days.

XxxoxxX


	4. Goodbye Little Girl

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

* * *

Chapter 4 – Goodbye Little Girl

The next morning, Roxxi climbed out of bed and quickly got dressed before picking up her mobile phone and dialling a more than familiar number. She waited for a moment and when the person on the other end answered, she smiled the tiniest of smiles. "Mum, are you, dad and Liza gonna be in today…I'm coming home to visit." It was a sunny Saturday morning and Roxxi didn't want to waste any of the time she had left. Balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder, she pulled her suitcase from her wardrobe and set it down on the bed.

"_Yes sweetheart, we'll be home all day. Is everything okay?" Esmeralda's voice was filled with concern. Usually when Roxxi visited home, it was for a birthday or some other special occasion. _

"Yeah everythin' is great, I just want to come and see you guys." She tried to stop her voice form trembling, reminding herself that these were her last few days with those who meant most to her so she would have to make them extra special. "That is okay, isn't it?"

"_Sweetheart, you know that you are always welcome to come home whenever you want. Just because you don't live here anymore doesn't mean you have to ask." Her mother chuckled lightly and Roxxi smiled against the receiver. "Shall I tell your father and your sister or do you want to keep it a surprise."_

"No, keep it a surprise. I'll see you later mum, love you."

"_Love you too sweetie." Hanging up the phone, Esmeralda smiled to herself and headed back into her bedroom to get ready for her eldest daughter's arrival._

Esmeralda and David had had another daughter when Roxxi was eight years old and now Liza Clarke was a bright, excitable ten year old who wanted nothing more than to follow in her older sister's footsteps. Liza adored her sister and Roxxi had been overjoyed when her parents had announced that she was going to have a younger sibling. She had secretly hoped that it would be a girl so that she could be the one to teach her about makeup and clothes…and boys. She knew that she would never get the chance to teach her about the last one, not now but she could certainly do the other two. Throwing her makeup bag into her suitcase, she opened the wardrobe and searched for her nicest clothes.

After saying a quick goodbye to her flatmates, she said that she would see them in a couple of days and headed for the train station. She hadn't been lying; she had planned her last few days out so that she could spend a couple with her family and a couple with her flatmates and friends at university. On the way to the train station, she stopped at a small jewellery store and bought two matching white-gold necklaces; one for her and one for her sister. They both had black rope chains and white-gold loops on them; Roxxi's saying 'Big Sister' and Liza's saying 'Little Sister'.

The train journey seemed to last forever but Roxxi finally made it at home just before dinner. Pushing open the front door, she pulled her suitcase in after her and smiled slightly. "Guess who is home!" Shouting from the hallway, she smiled when a blur of colour flew into the hallway and two, slim arms wrapped around her waist. Looking down, she smiled at her sister. "Hey Liza, where are mom and dad?"

"They're in the kitchen." Roxxi nodded and wrapped her arms around her younger sibling's shoulders. "So, what brings you home?"

"I just wanted to spend some more time with you guys." Pulling away, she looked down at her sister and smiled. "Is that okay?" Liza nodded and dropped her arms to her sides before walking into the living room with Roxxi trailing after her.

* * *

Two days passed in bliss as Roxxi taught Liza how to do her makeup and the two dressed up and did each others hair. It was on Roxxi's last night with her sister that she gave her the necklace. "Listen, Liza I have something for you and I want you to wear it all the time okay?"

"Okay…Rox are you okay?" The younger Clarke's voice was filled with concern and Roxxi smiled softly, desperately trying to fight back tears.

"Yeah I'm fine…I just thought…never mind." Walking over to her bag, she reached inside and plucked the two necklaces from it. Walking back over to Liza, she slipped one over her head and then held the other one out to her sister. "I want you to have this…then everyone will know that we'll always be sisters."

Twirling the necklace in between her fingers, Liza smiled. "It's beautiful…thank you." Carefully putting it on, she raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're okay?"

"Never better." Shuffling closer to Liza's side; she pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head, sighing into her honey curls. "You just remember that no matter what happens I will always be here for you."

"I know and if you need to talk to me about anything Roxxi…" Trailing off, she snuggled into Roxxi's side and let out a contented sigh.

"I know…'cuz we're sisters…we've always got each other's backs." Liza nodded and Roxxi quickly pulled away before standing up. "That reminds me, I have something else for you."

"Ooh lots of presents…did you win the lottery and not tell us?" Liza giggled and Roxxi rolled her eyes but chuckled.

"No but I've been having a clearout." Pulling her makeup bag out of her suitcase, she handed it to a stunned Liza and announced. "I want you to have this and all the stuff that's in it."

"You…you're really giving me this?" Roxxi nodded and Liza shook her head. "Rox I can't…"

"Relax it's only some makeup of course you can." After a small argument, it was decided that Liza would keep the makeup and use it like Roxxi had shown her how to.

That night, when Liza had fallen asleep, she tucked her in and kissed her forehead before whispering the words which broke her heart. "Goodnight sis…I'll always love you…never forget that." Afterwards she went downstairs and said long goodbyes to her parents; exchanging hugs and kisses and making sure that they knew how much they meant to her. Although they were confused by her behaviour, they had told her that they loved her too and that they would see her again soon. Little did they know, that the next time they saw their daughter she would be in a coffin at her own funeral.

* * *

Back at university, she spent her last night 'alive' with her best friends. They had stayed in and played board games, getting drunk and laughing about all the times they had spent together. While the two boys went to the shop for some more lemonade, Roxxi had said an emotional goodbye to Leila.

"Leila, can I tell you something?"

"Course you can." Turning to face her younger friend with bright eyes, she waited for Roxxi to speak up.

"I just wanted you to know that…you've been such a great friend to me Leila and I don't know what I would have done without you." Wrapping an arm around Leila, she allowed her head to drop to her shoulder.

"God, how much have you had?" Leila chuckled and pressed a kiss into Roxxi's long hair.

"I haven't…I'm being serious." Raising her head, she looked up at Leila and smiled. "I love you Leils."

"Love you too Rox…you'll always be my best friend." She looked away for a moment before sighing. "Are you okay? Is this because of all that stuff with the psychiatrist?"

"No…I'm fine…really I am. Just realised the other day that I don't tell you guys how much you mean to me." Smiling her best smile, she rested her head on Leila's shoulder once more.

* * *

She had said goodnight to Danny on the balcony whilst Leila and James were playing on the Wii. "Danny?"

"Hmm?" Taking a sip of his drink, he looked up at the stars and raised an eyebrow. "Sup?" Turning to look at Roxxi, he waited silently.

"Nothing…I just wanted to thank you really." He offered her a confused look as she took a step closer to him. "You've umm…you've been like a brother to me and it's nice knowing that you're always there for me."

"I always will be." Roxxi nodded and Danny closed the gap between them, pulling her into a hug and resting his chin on top of her head. "What's brought this on, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…I just wanted you to know that I love you." He nodded and gave her a gentle squeeze as she fought back tears.

* * *

The final goodbye was to James and proved to be harder than the rest. Creeping into his bedroom, she looked around the darkened room and smiled as she saw that he was still awake and stood by the window. Sneaking up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and let out a small chuckle when he jumped. Whirling around, he calmed down as he realised who it was. "Jeez Roxxi, you scared the hell outta me."

"Sorry." Her whisper came out broken and when James struggled to see her eyes, he caught the glimpse of sadness behind them.

"You okay?" His voice was filled with concern as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Roxxi, is there somethin' you wanna tell me?"

"Everythin' is fine…I umm…I just wanted to tell you…" Trailing off, she took a deep breath. "I wanted to tell you that I love you." His eyes widened in shock but he remained silent. "Please say something."

"I…uh…" Trying to think of something intelligent to say, he missed the hurt expression which had crossed Roxxi's face.

"Forget I said anything." The soft whisper conveyed everything as she pulled away from him and turned to leave the room. This wasn't quite how she had imagined her last goodbye being but at least she had said it.

There was no more room for thought however, as James grabbed her wrist and twirled her around before joining his lips to hers. His arms went around her waist and hers locked around his neck as one hand slipped into his hair. Time seemed to stop and a couple of minutes later, the need for air became a factor and they reluctantly pulled away. James was the first one to speak. "Sorry…I didn't mean to hurt you." She mutely nodded and he smiled. "It's just that…it isn't everyday that your best friend tells you she loves you." Roxxi let out a small chuckle and James laughed.

Leaning down again, he kissed her softly. Ten minutes later, Roxxi was backed against the wall as she undid the buttons on James's shirt. Peppering his chest with kisses, she looked up at him and shakily asked. "Are you sure about this?"

He eyed her seriously for a second before opening his mouth. "Are you?" Raising an eyebrow, he waited for her response.

"I am…I just want you to be." Smiling gently at him, she once again asked. "Are you?"

"Never been more certain of anything in my entire life before." His lips were once again fused with hers as together they stumbled to the bed. Looking down at her, he sighed. "Last chance to back out and change your mind…I won't think any less of you if you aren't ready yet." Roxxi shook her head; she didn't have time to 'not be ready'. This was her last night with him and she needed it to be special.

"I'm certain but uh…" Looking away, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I've never…"

"Huh?" He hadn't heard the last part so asked her to repeat herself. She lightly hit his chest but obliged anyway.

"I've never done it before." Her voice was filled with embarrassment and he shook his head before chuckling. Her eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance until he spoke again.

"That makes two of us then."

Later that night, they lay curled up together; Roxxi tracing patterns on James's chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. "James?"

"Hmm?" His tired mumble fell into her hair and she snuggled closer to him.

"I'm uh…I'm glad my first time was with you." Her voice was shy and she refused to meet his eyes.

"Me too…and about before…" She tensed slightly, dreading what he was about to say. "I love you too." He kissed the top of her head and let out a contented sigh.

An hour later, James was asleep and snoring softly…Roxxi however was not and all that she could think about was tomorrow. Crepsley had explained to her that she would be able to go out in the day, unlike him, and run errands but everyone would have to believe that she was gone. Looking over at the clock on the bedside table, a tear fell down her cheek. Tomorrow she would have to give all this up…tomorrow she would die. With one last look at James's sleeping face, she shook her head and vowed that she would never let that happen. Tomorrow she was going to stop Crepsley…no matter what the cost she was not going to let him turn her into a vampire.

* * *

Outside of James's bedroom window, a red figure clung to the walls with his nails. She had gone and fallen in love, she would never agree to his plan now. She had ruined it all and now they were both going to die. Closing his eyes for a second, Crepsley sighed to himself. "I cannot go through with this."

"You said it yourself Larten, the girl is the only one who can save you." Another figure, this one dressed in black, gripped the brick next to Crepsley.

"Gavner, you and I both saw what happened when I blooded Darren and took him away from his family." Gavner sighed but Crepsley continued. "It tore the boy apart…can I really do that to another child?"

"She is not a child, she is eighteen years of age Larten…old enough to realise what is going on." Gavner was insistent; he was not going to watch his best friend die prematurely. Especially not because Crepsley was starting to feel a little guilty.

"Yes but do you really think that she will agree when I go to see her tomorrow?" Looking sideways at Gavner, he raised an eyebrow.

"Then you know what you must do." Crepsley's eyebrows knitted in confusion and Gavner let out an exasperated groan. "Blood her now, do it tonight before she has chance to change her mind and over think things."

"That would be immoral, Gavner." Gavner said nothing and Crepsley shook his head. "I may be a lot of things but you and I both know that if I blood her without making everything clear to her then the princes would have my head…or worse." Gavner thought about this for a moment before sadly nodding. "I trust her not to let me down, that was why she was chosen." Taking one last look at the window, he sighed. He knew that Roxxi would put up a fight, she would not go willingly and it would probably take a lot of convincing but there was something special about this girl and he wasn't going to let her go without a fight.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading now pretty please review and let me know what you thought. More reviews = faster updates ^_^


	5. Life Vs Death

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

* * *

Life Vs Death

Sunlight flooded through the crack in the curtains and Roxxi winced as she opened her eyes. Once her eyes had adjusted, she looked around the room and sat up, pulling the blanket more tightly around her body as she did so. "James?" Calling out, she started to wonder if last night had been a dream. "James?" Flopping back against the pillows, she sighed but smiled when James walked out of the bathroom.

"Mornin'…didn't realise you were up yet." Still towel drying his hair, he flashed a smile at his girlfriend who smiled and patted the bed before pouting. Shaking his head, he grinned and sat down beside her, dropping the towel at the side of the bed. "You sleep okay?"

She nodded and smiled up at him. "So, this morning when I woke up I thought…" Trailing off, she looked away and he sighed before leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. "Just me being stupid, huh?"

"Yeah but that's why I love you." She giggled before pulling him into another kiss.

Fifteen minutes later, James was making pancakes for breakfast whilst Roxxi was having a quick shower. Salty tears fell down her cheeks as she thought back to the night before. "What have I done?" She had been so sure that becoming a half-vampire was the right thing to do but last night she hadn't been able to help herself; she loved James and she had needed to tell him before she 'died', knowing that if she hadn't then she would always regret it. Now she wasn't sure anymore. She knew that without her help, Crepsley would die and she didn't want that but she didn't want to have to leave her family, friends and boyfriend for an orange-haired man that she had always dreamed about but only actually met a handful of times.

Sighing, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She needed to think of something to do and she needed to think quickly because tonight Crepsley would come to 'kill' her and if she wasn't ready…she couldn't guarantee that she would live to see morning.

* * *

After breakfast with James, Leila and Danny, she returned to her room and turned on her laptop. James was working today and Leila and Danny had decided to go to the museum for the day to kill some time. Double-clicking on the 'internet' icon on her desktop, she typed in the word 'vampire' and started to read. She spent all day reading up about vampires, the ways of vampires, alleged ways to stop a vampire 'visiting' and most importantly, ways to kill a vampire. Maybe if she could figure out how Crepsley was going to be killed then she could warn him and he would be able to avoid death without having to turn her into a vampire too.

By the time it reached eight o'clock, her eyes were aching and every time she blinked, she saw spots. Leila, Danny and James had all gone out for pizza; they had asked her to go too but she had feigned illness and after arguing with James that she just wanted to go to bed and that he should go and have fun, he had agreed that bed was the best place for her. She had promised that if things got any worse then she would call him and he had hesitantly agreed to go.

Closing her laptop, she sat back on her bed and waited. She wasn't let down and twenty minutes later, Crepsley appeared in front of her. "I really would love to know how you got in." Her voice was weary, annoyed and somewhat angry. She wasn't angry that he had effectively broken in, she wasn't even angry that he was going to 'kill' her…she was angry because he was the reason that she was doubting everything in her life now.

"Magic." Crepsley offered her a smirk and she rolled her eyes before sitting up and sighing.

"Look, I know why you're here but I've been thinking and…I don't think I can go through with this." Locking eyes with him, she had to look away at the pain she saw flicker through them. "I have just found out that the boy I have been in love with for the best part of five months actually loves me back and…and I can't give that up without a second thought." Crepsley opened his mouth to speak but she continued regardless. "It isn't fair, I mean who the hell do you think you are to ask me to do that?" Angry tears fell down her face as she glared at the vampire. "You have no idea how hard this is for me!" Trailing off, fits of sobs took over.

"I am sorry…really I am but Roxxi, I am doing this for your safety as much as mine." His voice was sympathetic and he sat down beside her.

"But…but I j…just got together w…with James and n…now I…I have to leave him and it hurts Mr Crepsley." Turning to look at him, she sighed and pleaded for him to tell her there was another way.

"I am so sorry. I do not know why it was you that was chosen but you were and we will both have to make the best of it." Another few tears fell down her cheeks and Crepsley leant over and took hold of one of her hands. "I do not wish to see you die Miss Clarke, especially not because of me. If you become a half-vampire I can teach you…in a way…I can protect you."

"James can protect me. He would never let anyone hurt me…never." The look of desperation in her eyes actually burned and Mr Crepsley had never before wanted to help someone so badly.

"James cannot protect you from the danger you are in. As long as you are having these dreams and living this life, you are in danger and the only way that I can save you…" He trailed off and she bowed her head. "The decision must be yours and before you can decide I promise that I will explain everything to you."

"Explain?" Her brown knitted in confusion and he gently squeezed her hand.

"There is a lot more to being a vampire than you would ever realise." She slowly nodded and he sighed. "You would have to leave your family and your friends and at times your life will seem very lonely. You can never have children because vampires are barren and…and you will have to drink blood."

"Have to?" He sighed and nodded as a disgusted expression crossed her face.

"Yes Roxxi, have to. Without blood you would become weak and eventually…you would die." She looked away at this, choosing a spot on the wall and intently glaring at it. "I know that you do not wish to hear this but I must tell you the truth before I can even think of blooding you."

"D…don't blood me…please don't do this to me." She refused to look at him but from the tone in her voice, Crepsley knew that she was scared.

"I know that you are scared and you have every right to be but I promise that I will look after you. I will train you up, teach you the vampire ways and keep you safe." His voice was filled with sincerity and she sighed before meeting his eyes.

"If I became a vampire, I could really never see them again?" Sadness laced her words as she asked the question which, in her heart, she already knew the answer to.

"I am sorry; it would cause too much danger for them and for you." She nodded miserably before shaking her head.

"Then I can't do it."

* * *

Half an hour later she was still sat on the bed, her head resting on Crepsley's shoulder. "I can't believe I am even considering this." Crepsley said nothing and she sighed. "Why did you become a vampire?"

"I was young and foolish. I thought that being a vampire would be wonderful…better than my old life." His voice was filled with a sudden sadness and Roxxi grabbed his hand before squeezing gently.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to bring back old memories."

"Do not apologise, it just hurts sometimes to talk about it." She nodded slowly but remained silent. "I need to know Roxxi." He didn't elaborate but she knew what he was asking.

"You promise that you'll help me…protect me?" The tone was wary but there was some belief behind her words.

"I promise that I will do the best I can." Crepsley never made promises that he couldn't keep and knew that one day the time would come for Roxxi to stand on her own two feet…alone…without his help but until that day came he would help her.

"I…I don't want you to die." The whisper was soft and had it not been for Crepsley's sensitive hearing, he would have missed it.

"I am not particularly fond of the idea either." His voice was deadpan but Roxxi knew that he was hiding back a chuckle.

"Then I'll do it. I don't know why it was me but…it is and if I can stop you from dying then I will do it." He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted. "I know the decision has to be for me but I could never live with myself if you died and I could have stopped it but didn't."

"That is a very brave thing to say."

"I'm far from brave but I do have morals…I won't let you die."

She had been so determined to stop this from happening but the last forty-five minutes had changed her mind and she knew that she had to save Crepsley. For some reason she had been chosen to help him and then Cirque and although she didn't like it, she couldn't just turn her back to what was going to happen. If there was one thing she could never do it was live a lie.

"We will have to fake your death." His voice broke the silence and again, she silently nodded against his shoulder. "Last chance to back out." He wasn't trying to talk her out of it but he had made mistakes in the past. He had blooded Darren too young and although he had come to look at his assistant as a son, he had no desire to make the same mistakes with Roxxi.

"I've made my decision…I'm sticking to it." Taking a deep breath, she stood up and sighed. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading now pretty please review and let me know what you thought. Remember, more reviews = faster updates ^_^

XxxoxxX


	6. New Beginnings

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

* * *

New Beginnings

After a small discussion about faking Roxxi's death, Crepsley pulled a small vial from his pocket and handed it to Roxxi who looked at him through confusion-filled eyes. "This is what we will use…if your blood is good."

"Excuse me?" Taking a step back, she clutched at the vial so hard that she was worried it would break but it was either that or drop it.

"I will need to test your blood. It is purely routine and I am certain that your blood will be fine." She took another step back, glaring at him the whole time.

"Y…you want t…to test my b…blood?" She tried to keep the tremble form her voice but failed miserably.

"As I have said, purely routine." He stood up and took a step closer to her but she took yet another step back. This continued until Roxxi was backed against the desk and Crepsley was stood right in front of her. "Roxxi, I need to test your blood now hold still and this should not hurt too much." After a good few minutes of canvassing the room, Crepsley was starting to get impatient. "Roxxi!" This got her attention and she stopped moving. "Keep still…please."

She grudgingly stepped closer to him and sighed before waiting for the inevitable pain. She was shocked however, when he asked her to hold her hands out in front of her. She did as she was told and he quickly pricked her fingertip before licking at the red substance on his own fingers. "Well?" After a couple of seconds, she found her voice again and waited for an answer.

"Yes, you have good blood…this will work." He nodded approvingly and her eyes widened.

"Well you're not having anymore!" He chuckled softly and she realised what he had meant. "Oh, right…yeah." Looking at the floor embarrassed, she waited for him once again to speak up.

"Right, we will need to exchange blood." He held his fingers up and told her to do the same.

She reluctantly did as she was told but couldn't stop the retort escaping. "That's totally gross…you know that right?"

He sighed and shook his head but a small smile graced his lips. "I know it is and you would not believe how many times I have heard that but this is how it is done. You will feel a few sharp pricks and it will hurt when the blood reaches your heart but give it a few minutes and you will be fine." She nodded and watched in awe as he pricked her fingertips then did the same to his own. When he had done so, he pressed his fingertips to hers and waited for enough blood to flow through. When he had finished, he pulled back as she gasped and dropped to the floor, wincing in pain. Kneeling beside her, he licked his fingertips and placed a hand on her back. "Breathe…the pain will stop in a moment."

She nodded and took a couple of shaky breaths before looking up at him. "So that's it…I'm a half-vampire now?" He nodded and she blinked back a few tears. "No going back?" She already knew the answer so it came as no shock when he shook his head apologetically. "What do I do about…?" Raising her fingers, she looked at them as blood slowly trickled from the tips.

"Hold them out." Doing as she was told, she held them out but let out a surprised squeak as he licked the tips. Her surprise turned to shock however, when she looked down to see the skin closing before her eyes.

"Wow, can I do that?" Looking at the vampire before her, she couldn't keep the excitement from her voice. She knew that she would never again see her family and friends and that she would have to get used to a new way of life but for now…the change was thrilling.

"Afraid not…the saliva which you have will help to ease any pain but I am afraid as a half-vampire, you cannot close wounds with it." She nodded, slightly disappointed and looked at the vial which she had abandoned on the desk. He followed her gaze and sighed. "Are you ready to die, Roxxi Clarke?"

"I don't see how I have much choice…yeah I'm ready." He nodded and got to his feet before offering a hand to Roxxi and helping her to her feet. He picked up the vial and handed it to her as she stared at the dark liquid inside. "Do I drink this?"

"Yes and I will not lie to you, it will taste disgusting." She laughed at his honesty but deep down she admired him for having the guts to be so open.

"Let's get this over with then." Uncorking the vial, she downed the liquid and tried to suppress a gag as the taste hit. "Ugh…that is nasty." Looking at Crepsley, she handed him the now-empty container and shivered. "What now?"

"Now we wait a few minutes." A couple of minutes later, he looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Anything?"

"I feel numb and cold…and my lips tingle."

"Oh, good." A slow smile graced his face and she narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"It's not funny."

"No, I mean it is good because it is working."

"Oh…well…then yeah I guess it is good." He nodded and another couple of minutes later, Roxxi had gone completely numb.

Walking over to her, he sighed and closed his eyes for a second. "I'm sorry about this but do not worry…I can fix everything." There was a loud snapping noise as he cracked the bones in her neck and when she fell limp and seemingly lifeless in his arms, he carried her over to the window and opened it before throwing her out of it.

* * *

When Roxxi's family and friends found out that she had passed away, they were inconsolable. Leila had threatened to drop out of university until Danny had persuaded her that Roxxi would never want that for her. Danny had been devastated at losing the girl who had become a little sister to him and James had been heartbroken at the thought of never again seeing his beautiful girlfriend.

Roxxi had been awake during the funeral, still paralysed from the liquid which Crepsley had made her drink but she had been able to hear everything. Crepsley had snuck into the funeral home and fixed her broken neck as he had promised but he had refused to put her to sleep for the funeral saying that the dangers of her not waking up ever again were too high.

She had wanted to sob as she heard her best friend give a speech about how special she was. Her heart had broken in two as James had pressed one last kiss to her lips before whispering that he would always love her and that he was sorry he wasn't there to stop her. When Danny had said goodbye it was short and to the point but deep down it was clear that he too was torn up inside at the thought of losing her to such a horrible death. The final heart-shattering blow had come from her family. Her mother had blamed herself and her father had wept until he could cry no more. Her sister had been the worst. She had kissed Roxxi's forehead and said goodbye and the last words that Roxxi Clarke had heard were 'I'll always love you sis.'

She had kept it together at the funeral but as the coffin was lowered and the ground thudded on top of the wooden box, she silently sobbed. She sobbed for herself, for her family and for the friends she had left behind but most of all she sobbed over her death. It had been ruled suicide and she knew deep down that her mother would never be able to forgive herself for not seeing how Roxxi had 'felt'. As far as they know, she had been depressed and killed herself to stop the pain. She wished that she could have told them the truth…explained that she had to leave but she knew that if she did they would never agree to it and if she had 'died' then they would have gone looking for her and Crepsley.

That night, Crepsley dug her up. He had shovelled his way through the earth and down to the coffin, finally hitting the wooden box. When he opened it, Roxxi was lying as curled up as she could, still sobbing into her hands. "Roxxi?" His voice was quiet but her hearing had strengthened and she heard his whisper clearly.

"What?" The tone was bitter and cold as he held out a hand to her. "They blame themselves." Uncurling, she sat up and blinked her eyes free of tears. "Will it get easier for them?" Her voice begged him to say 'yes' but she also knew that Crepsley was not a liar.

"In time they will come to accept your death but it will always hurt." She nodded and he extended his arm further. This time she took it and he pulled her to her feet. "I cannot tell you that they will ever be the same and they will never ever forget you or the way you died but in time it will get a little easier." She slowly nodded as a few more tears sprang free. Acting on instinct, he pulled Roxxi into his arms and hugged her closely to him. He had learned with Darren that the best way to comfort someone was to simply be there. Now that he thought about it…he had learned a lot from Darren and hoped that Roxxi too would learn from his young apprentice. After a couple of minutes, he pulled away and offered her a tiny smile. "Do you feel any better?" He raised an eyebrow and she nodded.

"Yeah…a little bit…thanks." He nodded and she offered him a small smile of her own.

"Now, I will fill this hole in and I suggest you walk around a little…loosen up your muscles again." She nodded and started to walk away, unable to stop the small smile when he called out, "Do not go too far and do not get into any trouble."

"I won't." She slowly walked around the graveyard thinking about her old life. After ten minutes of pondering, she decided that although she would miss her old life, she had a new one now and she had to make the most of it.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading and pretty, pretty please review. I have noticed reviews dwindling a little so please let me know what you thought. Thanks again.

XxxoxxX


	7. Journey to the Centre of the Cirque

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

This chapter will also contain a few references to the movie, mentioning Rebecca as Darren's girlfriend.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

* * *

Journey to the Centre of the Cirque

After a couple of minutes of aimless wandering, Roxxi had straightened her white shirt and perched herself on the low branch of a tree. She sat and watched Crepsley quickly filling in the hole, his cape flapping about wildly in the wind which had started to blow around them. She let out a small shiver, being a half-vampire meant that she felt more of the cold than Crepsley and she sent up a silent thank you that her parents had buried her in her favourite shirt. It was white and had a few ruffles around the neck but more importantly, it had _long_ sleeves with ruffles on the cuffs. Pulling her feet up to rest on the same branch, she leant back against the trunk and continued to watch Crepsley piling more dirt onto her now-empty coffin.

When Crepsley had finished, he looked around the graveyard for Roxxi and panicked when he couldn't find her. "Roxxi?" He hissed against the chilly night air and looked around some more. "Roxxi?" He quietly called out her name, not wanting to alert anyone to their presence. After a couple of minutes frantic searching, he found her asleep on the tree branch.

She was balancing carefully and if she rolled slightly to one side, he knew for sure that she would fall off but luckily the branch wasn't very far off the ground. She mumbled something in her sleep and Crepsley smiled slightly, stepping out of the way as she fell and landed in a heap at his feet. Her eyes slowly popped open and she glared up at him, muttering a few curse words before getting to her feet. "You could have caught me."

"Why?" He smirked. "You are not a baby, you are capable of learning from your own mistakes…did you learn a lesson?" He raised an eyebrow and watched with mild amusement as she dusted the dirt from her arms and knees. She once again muttered under her breath. "What was that?"

"You heard." Turning, she glared at him before narrowing her eyes. "Git."

"Brat." He smiled brightly, clearly enjoying how easy it was to wind her up. "Come, we must begin our journey back to the Cirque…I told Darren that we would be back tonight."

"How far away is it? And what if someone sees me?" She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, clearly not wanting to go anywhere.

"Nobody will see you and it is not that far if we flit." He waited for the inevitable next question.

"What's flitting?" Her voice was filled with curiosity and he rolled his eyes as she hit him lightly on the arm. "I'm new to all of this, remember."

He nodded and quickly explained that flitting involved moving at very fast speed and covering a lot of ground quickly. He then turned his back to her and told her, "Hop on my back and take a deep breath."

For once, she did as he requested in silence and took a deep breath before he set off. He stopped occasionally so that she could breathe before continuing along the familiar route to the Cirque camp grounds.

* * *

It took them a couple of hours and when they reached the camp grounds, it was obvious that Crepsley was tired out. Roxxi slowly slid down from his back and looked up at him. "You okay?" He looked down and saw the concern in her eyes, perhaps he should have explained beforehand that flitting was tiring for the vampire doing the running. "Mr Crepsley?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and she smiled slightly. "Yes, flitting is just tiring that is all."

Nodding, she looked around and then returned her eyes to his. "So this is the Cirque?"

He nodded in agreement and she raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"No…it just looks different than I remember." She thought back to her dreams all those years ago and then the less than pleasant ones she had been having lately. The harder she thought, the more it came back to her and a wide smile broke out across her face. "Maybe not so different after all…does Mr Tall still run the Cirque?"

"Yes, I will need to take you to his tent and explain why you are here." He took a deep breath and then wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Follow me." She fell into step beside him, allowing him to believe that he was in control but in truth, Roxxi already knew where Hibernius Tall's tent was…after all, she had been here before in dreams as a little girl.

Once they reached Mr Tall's tent, Crepsley knocked on the doorframe and waited for a reply. They only entered when they heard a calm voice call out, "Come in."

"Hibernius, may I speak with you?" Mr Tall looked at Roxxi then slowly nodded. "Thank you." Both Mr Tall and Crepsley sat down but out of politeness, Roxxi remained standing until Crepsley looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She simply smiled nervously and looked at Mr Tall who smiled.

"Please feel free to sit down and make yourself at home." She smiled in thanks and sat down next to Crepsley, glad to find that Mr Tall was as kind as he had been in her dreams. "Now Larten, you wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes but first I would like to introduce you to Roxxi Clarke…my newest assistant." Mr Tall's eyebrows rose in question and Crepsley let out a nervous chuckle. "I will now have two assistants…I had to blood Roxxi because she was in danger." He explained the whole story to Mr Tall and when he had finished, he sighed. "I know it is a lot to ask Hibernius and usually I would not be so forward about it but I really do think that Roxxi can prevent my death and if this is true then I have to do whatever I can to protect her."

"As I have said to you before Larten, the Cirque is strictly neutral but having Darren with us has had no ill effects so as long as Roxxi chips in and helps out…I have no problem with her staying here." He then looked at Roxxi and smiled. "You will have to help out, everyone at the Cirque pitches in."

She looked at Crepsley and nodded. "Sure, that's fine by me." Mr Tall smiled and nodded as Roxxi smiled back.

"Larten, take her to Darren and Evra's tent…it is the biggest one so she will stay in there." It was true that Darren and Evra's tent was one of the biggest tents at the Cirque, plenty big enough for all of Evra's stuff, Darren's things and now Roxxi's.

Crepsley nodded and stood up, smiling thankfully at Mr Tall. "Thank you Hibernius." Mr Tall nodded and together, Roxxi and Crepsley left the tent.

"I will take you to Evra and Darren's tent, introduce you and then head back to my own tent…it is almost dawn. Your lessons will begin tomorrow but do not worry, Darren and I will teach you and we will start off with the easy and work our way up." She silently nodded and followed Crepsley to the tent. The opening of the tent resembled a snake's mouth and she stood staring at it in awe as Crepsley went inside. "Darren, Evra." The two boys slowly opened their eyes and Darren sat up in bed as Evra mumbled something under his breath about the impoliteness of interrupting his sleep. Politely nodding at both of the boys inside, he smiled a nervous smile and quickly apologised for waking them.

"Is everything okay Mr Crepsley?" Darren picked up on Mr Crepsley's unusual and infrequent nerves and raised an eyebrow. Rubbing at his eyes, he swung his legs over the side of the small bed and yawned.

"Yes Darren, everything is fine. I have someone that I would like to introduce you to. Boys, this is Roxxi and she will be your new tent-mate." Both boys looked at him as though he had gone mad and when he turned to his side, he was greeted by nothing but air. Sighing to himself, he turned back to them. "Excuse me a moment." Walking back out of the tent, he rolled his eyes as his female assistant continued to stare up at the entrance. "Roxxi?" She snapped out of her trance and looked at him before raising an eyebrow. "I thought I told you to follow me."

"I did, I was just…" She started to defend herself but was interrupted as he glared at her.

"Come now, I do not have much time before dawn." She muttered an apology and followed Crepsley inside the tent where she stood looking at the ground, waiting for him to speak. "Boys, this is Roxxi. She will be your tent-mate." Roxxi looked up and was greeted by the sight of an uninterested, ordinary looking boy and a boy with…scales? She was broken from her thoughts as Crepsley spoke up again. "Roxxi, this is Darren and this is Evra." She nodded but before she could speak, he continued. "Anyway, I will let you get to know each other. The sun will be up soon and I must head back to my coffin. Good day." With that he left the tent and a terrified looking Roxxi behind.

"So…" Evra sat up and broke the silence. "You must be the girl Crepsley's been telling us about." She slowly nodded; completely unaware that Crepsley had informed them in advance.

She thought for a moment then remembered; the night they had faked her death, she had given Crepsley some of the things she wanted to take with her. He had complained but eventually given in. Roxxi was completely different to Darren after all. Darren had not cared about a change of clothes or something to sleep in, all he had wished to take was his diary…Roxxi however had been the complete opposite. She had demanded that he allow her to take some other clothes to change into and a set of pyjama's to sleep in. Looking around the tent, she realised that a bed had already been set up for her in one of the corners and her backpack was sitting beside it.

Looking back up at Evra, she nodded more confidently. "Sorry, yeah I'm Roxxi Clarke." looking over at Darren, she smiled. "You must be Darren, Mr Crepsley's told me a lot about you."

Darren smiled back and tried to stifle a yawn. "All good I hope."

"Of course." She felt a little more confident but still out of place, standing in the middle of the tent. "Did umm…did Mr Crepsley tell you why I was…" Trailing off, she tried to figure out a way of saying what she wanted to say.

"Blooded?" Darren helped her out and she nodded. "Yeah, something to do with you being able to save his life…he didn't really explain but I know what you are." She nodded slowly and he walked over to her. "It's okay…I'm one too." At hearing this, her smile brightened…she wasn't the only one.

"Really?" He nodded and her smile widened. She had had the dreams with him in them but she hadn't known that Crepsley had blooded him yet.

"Yeah so don't worry about it. We're like a family here at the cirque, I'm sure you'll fit in just fine." She nodded and he gestured over to the bed with his head. "That's gonna be your corner of the tent, Crepsley left your stuff there for you." She nodded again and Darren chuckled when Evra coughed to remind them both that he was still there. Turning around, he smiled at Evra. "Roxxi, this is Evra Von."

"Evra Von what?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at Evra.

"Just Von." Evra answered before Darren had the chance to.

The next half an hour was spent discussing the members of the Cirque. Evra explained to Roxxi that he had been saved by Mr Tall from another, crueller, freak show. He had also explained that he was a snake-boy and had been pleasantly surprised when Roxxi had found the trick with his tongue and nostrils cool as opposed to disgusting. Together they discussed life at the cirque and when the sun came up, they headed outside for the day ahead.

* * *

The first task of the day was to feed the little people. The three of them collected dead rats and birds and as Roxxi crept further into the woods, she found a dead fox. They took them back to the Cirque and put them in a large trough which was then left for the little people to eat whenever they liked. The second task of the day was to clean the wolf man's cage but Evra told Darren and Roxxi that they could do that whilst he went to sweep around the camp. Once they had cleaned out the cage, Darren led Roxxi to the costume shop to meet his girlfriend, Rebecca. He knocked on the door and opened it before the monkey girl had chance to reply.

"Hey Rebecca." Walking over to her, he leant down and gave her a quick kiss before Roxxi entered the tent. "Rebecca this is Roxxi, Roxxi this is my girlfriend Rebecca."

Roxxi walked further into the tent and over to the younger girl. "Hi."

"Hi, so you're the new half-vampire?" Roxxi's eyes widened in shock, who exactly had Crepsley told?

"Yeah, how did you…?" She trailed off, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Darren told me about you yesterday…said that we'd be getting a new act." Roxxi looked over at Darren who sheepishly smiled. "So, how are you finding life here at the cirque so far?"

"Well I only got here early this morning but I'm sure I'll love it." She offered Rebecca a smile and Rebecca nodded.

"You here for Crepsley's cape?" Looking up at Darren, she raised an eyebrow and waited for an answer.

"Huh?" Snapping out of the daze he had been in, Darren asked her to repeat herself. She did as he asked and nodded when he said, "Yeah, he wants his red one."

"I guessed he would so I did that one first. His black one won't be sorted until tonight…is that okay?"

"Yeah, he probably won't want it anyway…the red one's his favourite." He chuckled lightly and Rebecca offered him a knowing smile before standing up and walking over to one of the coat racks. Handing it to her boyfriend she grinned. "Is there anything else you want?"

"Nope." She nodded and Darren wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Look, I said I'd show Roxxi around so…I'll see you later."

"Okay, I'll come and find you if I ever get that lot finished." Pointing to a stack of ripped clothes, she rolled her eyes. "I swear these guys do this on purpose."

"Hmm, well I'll come back here in a bit if you aren't done." She nodded and he quickly kissed her before turning to Roxxi. "You wanna see the rest of this place?"

"Yeah sure." She nodded and when Darren walked out of the tent, smiled at Rebecca. "See you later maybe…it was nice meeting you."

"Yeah you too Roxxi, maybe we can hang out some time." Rebecca loved the thought of having another girl to hang around with, someone closer to her age whom she could have girly conversations with.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Roxxi loved the fact that she had already started to fit in and couldn't wait to get to know Rebecca better; she seemed like a nice girl and Roxxi was going to need someone to have girly conversations with. After exchanging goodbyes with Rebecca, she headed out of the tent to meet Darren.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent meeting the other members of the cirque. She had met Gertha and her amazing teeth which could bite through anything. She had also met Cormac limbs who could grow limbs which had been chopped off by himself or other members of the cirque. Rhamus Twobellies was a man who had two bellies and he could eat practically anything. Alexander Ribs was an amazing man whom could not only contort himself into weird and wonderful positions but also play music on his ribs. Madame Truska was a voluptuous woman who could grow a beard on command and retract it at will. She spoke in a strange foreign language which resembled a seal's bark but Darren told her that Evra was going to teach her English.

Her first day had been pleasant but soon night fell and she knew that it was time to start her training. She was excited to be learning the vampire ways but fear gripped her insides and twisted painfully. What if she couldn't get used to it? What if she messed up? What if she let herself and Crepsley down? Banishing those thoughts from her head, she got changed into a pair of cut offs and a t-shirt and ready for the night ahead of her.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading and special thanks to 'ferretgirlsz' for reviewing every chapter and being supportive, 'LilyHellsing' for her supportive reviews and being my RP buddy and 'MrsOldGregg' for being an amazing sister and reviewing so nicely, even if she does keep doing so under false names cuz she's too lazy to sign in ; )

Now, pretty please review…it will make me and Crepsley smile hehe


	8. Blood Thirsty?

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books and the movie. Some facts are different, like when Darren joined the Cirque and why he joined as well as the death of Sam.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

Blood Thirsty?

Ten minutes passed as Roxxi stood in the tent, trying to calm her breathing and get her heart rate back to normal. Sighing, she took a deep breath before stepping out of the tent and setting off for Crepsley's tent. Once she reached the other vampire's sleeping place, she froze. Who was she kidding, she wasn't strong or tough…she was just going to end up making a fool of herself.

"Hey, you ready for training." The voice broke her from her thoughts and she turned to see Evra Von shuffling from one foot to another, somewhat nervously.

"Not exactly." He slowly nodded but she could tell that he was confused by her comment. "What if I mess up? What if I let Crepsley down?"

"Look, Crepsley's training you so that you can be a proper vampire like him and Darren…it isn't a test." The snake boy was talking a lot of sense but this still didn't ease her nerves. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he smiled softly. "You'll do just fine but if you're still worried why don't you talk to Darren about it?"

"I guess I could." She offered him the tiniest of smiles and he nodded.

"I mean, Darren knows what it's like…he's totally been there before." Evra looked at the mouth of the tent before looking back to meet Roxxi's nervous eyes. "Don't worry about it, okay?" She nodded slightly and he smiled. "Come and find me after training and you can tell me all about it."

"But you'll be asleep." She smiled widely this time; Evra had gone out of his way since he had met her to make her feel more at home, him knowing what it was like to be excluded.

"So…wake me up." Eventually she nodded and he smiled, squeezing her shoulder and heading back to their tent as Roxxi looked back at the entrance to Crepsley's.

Taking another deep breath, she knocked and waited for a response. "Come in." The voice belonged to her mentor and when she walked inside, she found Crepsley fastening the last button on his shirt as he muttered to himself that he had misplaced his cape for the third time in four days.

"Uh, Mr Crepsley…" Trailing off, she tore him from his rant and he turned before offering her a sheepish smile. "Is this what you're looking for?" Picking up the red cloak, she held it up for him to see.

"Yes, that would be the one…thank you." He swiftly crossed the room and took the cape from her before speaking up again. "Are you ready?" She slowly nodded, uncertainly but trying to look confident. "Good, follow me." He brushed past her but stopped in the doorway when she called him back. "Yes?" Raising an eyebrow, he waited for the reply.

"Shouldn't we wait for Darren?" Looking around, she realised that Darren was nowhere to be seen.

"No, we are meeting him in the woods." She raised an eyebrow and he chuckled. "He has been setting something up for me."

"Oh…okay." With that, she allowed him to lead the way, trailing obediently behind him.

He led her deep into a forest which was set just behind the Cirque camp grounds and eventually, Darren came into view. He was sitting leaning against a tree, his head tipped back and his eyes closed. "Darren?" Crepsley wondered for a moment if the boy was asleep.

"About time, I wondered when you two were gonna show up." A smirk crossed the half-vampire's lips as his eyes popped open and he looked over to where Crepsley and Roxxi stood. Getting to his feet, he looked at Roxxi who nervously smiled. "You okay?" She remained silent but nodded, not wanting to look weak in front of him and Crepsley.

"Roxxi is fine, probably just nervous but do not worry, everybody feels that way about their first lesson." Crepsley looked down at his eldest assistant and offered her a reassuring smile. Roxxi was slightly older than Darren; she was almost nineteen whereas Darren was seventeen and a half.

Darren had first been blooded when he was thirteen years old but had finally joined the Cirque with Crepsley when he was fourteen and a half. It had taken him a whole month to accept the fact that he was a vampire and after almost killing his sister and seriously injuring one of his best friends before licking at his blood, Darren had realised that living at home was no longer an option. He had faked his death and left with Crepsley. They had travelled by public transport, using night busses and trains to travel from state to state. Eventually, Darren had gotten bored of having no friends and Crepsley had suggested that they go to the Cirque and after a long, explanatory conversation with Hibernius Tall; they had been told that they may stay. Although Darren was younger than Roxxi, he knew a great deal more about being a half-vampire so Roxxi knew that she would have to listen to him as though he were the older one.

"I'll be fine." Finally finding her voice, Roxxi smiled slightly and looked from Crepsley to Darren. "So what exactly are you guys gonna teach me tonight?"

Ignoring her question, Darren was the first to speak. "When was the last time you were in a fight?"

Roxxi thought for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "I don't really remember…probably high school when I was about twelve. I don't really get into fights." She had no idea where this was going so once again fell silent and waited for Darren to speak up.

"Well you're gonna have to learn how to fight. One day you could get attacked and if me and Mr Crepsley aren't here to fight for you then you'll need to be able to defend yourself." She said nothing but nodded, knowing that Darren was right. He looked at Crepsley who wordlessly nodded, indicating that Darren should continue. "Tonight you're going to learn how to defend yourself."

"Like self defence? I went to a self defence class once with Leila; it was a right laugh, she…" Crepsley cut her off by covering her mouth with his hand and when he was confident that she had stopped talking, removed his hand as she let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry." Smiling sheepishly, she looked from Crepsley to Darren and back again. "So…what exactly are you teaching me?"

Crepsley was the one to speak this time. "How to use the best weapon of all." Her heart jumped at this, they were really trusting her with the most dangerous weapon a vampire had? Already?

"What would that be then?" She raised an eyebrow and tried to keep the excitement from her voice.

"Your nails." He looked down at her and chuckled when her smile faltered.

"What?" He repeated himself and she laughed. "You have got to be kidding me."

Shaking his head, Crepsley sighed. "No, I am not joking with you." An expression of pure annoyance crossed her face as Darren laughed. "A vampire's nails are extra strong and prove to be the best weapon around." She looked at him, disbelieving and incredibly unimpressed. "Come, I will show you."

"This better be good." Muttering under her breath, she followed Crepsley over to a tree and waited for him to act.

"You must extend your fingers and use your nails like a dagger." Holding his hand out, he made his nails resemble a blade and took a step closer. "Concentrate and follow all the way through…do not stop or you will get your nails stuck." He lashed out at the tree and slashed through the bark before glancing back at Roxxi. "Your turn."

Roxxi's eyes had widened in amazement, maybe a vampire's nails were the best weapon possible. "Wow, how did you…?" Trailing off, she laughed. "That was amazing."

"Yes, now you try it." Walking back over to her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the tree. "Make a cut of your own, do not follow mine." She nodded and he took a step back. "Try it."

"Okay, I can do this." Taking a deep breath, she looked at the tree and raised her hand; pointing her fingers and making the same shape with her nails which Crepsley had. She then struck the tree but let out a yelp of pain as one of her nails snapped. "Oh my God!" Crepsley and Darren both winced as she let out a long stream of curse words, a couple of tears rolling down her cheeks as she did so. Looking down at her nails, she realised that not only had she broken a couple of nails but she had also sliced open two of her fingertips. "Fuck!" Cursing under her breath, she looked at Crepsley and smiled shakily. "Guess I can't do this."

She bit down hard on her lip to stop a fresh batch of tears breaking free and Crepsley walked over to her. "Hold out your hand and let me see the damage." She silently did as he requested and he sighed at the sight. Blood was pouring from the wounds, dripping onto the grass beneath them. "Do not worry; I will fix them for you." She watched as he raised her hand and licked the two cuts, Crepsley smiling when they started to seal. "Okay?"

"Yeah…thanks." She lowered her eyes, unable to look at him. "I uh…" Trailing off, she didn't know what to say.

"Do not worry." Crepsley's voice was surprisingly soft and calm. "This is my fault, you clearly need blood and until you have some you will not b able to do half of things that Darren can do." Looking over at his younger assistant, he smiled slightly. "Come, we must find you some blood."

Roxxi said nothing but she didn't need to…her eyes said it all. She couldn't drink from another human; in doing that, she would lose her human side once and for all. "Roxxi, you need to drink blood." Darren stepped closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I know you don't like the idea, I was the same and I refused so many times but…but Crepsley's right and unless you drink it, you'll die eventually." The words were meant to scare her into drinking but Darren knew deep down that they wouldn't; Roxxi was too stubborn.

"I…I can't." Her broken whisper was filled with regrets as it finally dawned on her that she had to drink to survive or refuse and die. "I would rather die than drink blood from another human being!" Her voice was filled with disgust as she glared at Crepsley. "I'll never be like you!"

Darren looked up at Crepsley who nodded, already knowing what Darren was going to do. Tightening his arm around Roxxi's shoulders, Darren led her away to a nearby tree and sat on one of the lower branches. "Look Roxxi, I know it's a scary idea but I've been through the same thing and…and it isn't that bad." She raised an eyebrow, sceptically, and sat beside him. "You're afraid of losing your humanity." It was a statement, not a question but Roxxi nodded anyway. "I felt the exact same way but my girlfriend was right when she told me that it's not what you are…it's who you are."

Roxxi sighed and nodded slightly before looking over at the other half-vampire. "When did you first drink blood then?"

Darren closed his eyes, considering whether to tell her the truth or not. A couple of minutes passed in silence as Roxxi waited for an answer. When Darren's eyes popped open again, he decided that the truth was what she needed. "I had a friend…he was called Sam and he was killed by the wolf man." Pausing, he took a deep breath and swallowed back tears. "He was my best friend and when he died, Crepsley told me that if I drank his blood then it would keep his memory alive. I…I didn't believe him at first and I refused but Rebecca told me that if I had to drink blood then it didn't make me a monster and…and I did. I did it to keep him alive; part of him lives on in me." A tear broke free and Roxxi shuffled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he automatically wrapped an arm around her shoulders. When Darren had clamed down, he looked down at Roxxi and sighed. "You're a half-vampire now, needing blood is part of who you are…it doesn't make you a bad person."

"But with Sam it was different, you said it yourself…he was dead." The thought of drinking from a dead body made her sick but the thought of taking blood from a live human was even worse.

"Believe it or not…it's harder when the person's dead. If they are still alive then you knock them out, take a little and seal the wound. In the morning they won't remember anything and they won't be affected by the loss because you don't take very much." He was telling the truth; with Sam it had been harder because of how close he had been to the boy but when you didn't know the person it was a lot easier.

"Can't I survive of animal blood?" Crepsley had already told her that some animals were okay to drink from; dogs, sheep and goats would be fine but cats and snakes were poisonous to vampires.

"No, animal blood doesn't have all the stuff you'd need…sooner or later you'll die without human blood." She closed her eyes and dropped her head to Darren's shoulder as he sighed. He knew that she was finding this hard, he could sympathise but he also knew that her stubbornness would have to subside if she wanted to survive as a half-vampire.

"I…I need to think about it." Darren slowly nodded but warned her not to take too long in her decision making process. "Umm…can you tell Crepsley that I went back to the tent because I didn't feel too good?" He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow in silent question. "I just wanna go for a walk, don't worry I won't do anything stupid."

Softly nodding, Darren agreed. "Okay, I'll tell him but don't go too far." She thanked him before giving his waist one last squeeze and pulling away from him. Sliding down off the branch, she said that she would see him later before setting off on her own.

True to his word, Darren told Crepsley who nodded and pretended to believe him. In truth, Crepsley knew that Roxxi had been lying and that she couldn't face him after her outburst earlier. He hadn't been hurt by her words, knowing that she was still in shock at becoming a creature of the night; he was simply worried about her.

Roxxi had gone to find Evra after her incredibly short training session. She had told him everything and was currently lying in a field not far from the Cirque with Evra by her side. "So what are you gonna do?" Staring up at the stars, Evra waited for his friend to answer.

"I don't know." She sighed and rolled onto her side to look at him. "What do you think I should do?" Her eyes begged him to help and he really wished that he knew the answer.

"Without it you'll really die?" He had never had this conversation with Darren because the younger boy had always said that he didn't wish to talk about it so Evra had no idea how serious the issue was.

"Yeah." Her reply was quiet as she averted her gaze and looked down at the grass.

"Then I think you should do as Crepsley says." She looked up at him, a look of horror on her face. "I know it seems pretty disgusting but you're one of my friends and I don't wanna watch you die." His voice was filled with concern and worry for the girl who had already become something of a best friend to him.

"I'm just worried that if I drink blood then…I'll turn into a monster. I've heard Crepsley talking about the vampaneze and what if I like blood too much? What if I turn into one of them?" Her voice was filled with worry and Evra finally realised that she wasn't scared of drinking blood; she was scared of liking it too much.

"Oh Rox, that isn't gonna happen." Shuffling closer to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Crepsley tested your blood right?" She nodded and he smiled softly. "Then he knows that you'll be a great vampire someday. I don't understand how it works but Darren's told me that Crepsley can tell if someone has evil blood or not and…and if they have then he won't blood them. He blooded you so that must mean you have good blood…right?" She nodded again but said nothing. "Then you have nothing to worry about, you'll be fine."

"I guess so." Smiling a little more confidently, she shuffled closer to him and rested her head against his chest. "Thanks Evra."

"Don't worry about it." The reply came out as a shy whisper, he wasn't used to being such a big help and receiving thanks for it.

An hour later, after a lot of talking and joking, they returned to the Cirque and Roxxi headed for Crepsley's tent. She wanted to apologise to him for the things she had said before. When she knocked however, there was no reply and as she walked in, she realised that he wasn't back yet. Sitting down on a wooden crate, she waited for her mentor to return. A few hours passed and when Crepsley returned, he found Roxxi lying fast asleep on the floor; having fallen off the box earlier. He smiled softly and crossed the room, kneeling beside her and gently shaking her shoulder. "Roxxi?" She didn't stir, instead mumbling something unintelligible in her sleep. "Roxxi?"

This time he shook her a little harder and her eyes popped open. She blinked a couple of times, trying to clear her vision and smiled sadly when Crepsley came into vision. "Mr Crepsley…time is it?" Looking down at her watch, she realised that she couldn't see the numbers as it was dark.

"It is just after three, is everything okay?" She nodded slightly and he sat beside her. "Then why are you asleep on my tent floor. Darren said that you were ill, what is wrong?" He hadn't believed that she was ill but now he wasn't so sure. She struggled into a sitting position, ignoring her protesting back muscles.

"I'm sorry Mr Crepsley, I came in here to apologise but you weren't here so I decided to wait for you. Guess I fell asleep waiting." She offered him a sheepish smile and was rewarded with a small chuckle. "Look, about before…"

"It is quite alright, you were in shock…there is no need for you to apologise." The truth was, he felt sorry for her. She didn't deserve this and his reasons for blooding her had been partly selfish after all…in fact…if anything, he should be apologising to her. Dismissing those thoughts, he returned his attention to her.

"I do though, what I said was uncalled for. Truth is, I'm scared of liking blood too much and becoming one of them…I'm scared of letting you down. You have been so kind and helpful to me since I became your assistant and…and I have done nothing but call you." Taking a deep breath, she forced her eyes to meet his. "I'm really sorry Mr Crepsley…forgive me?" She waited for him to say something, dreading him rejecting her apology.

"Of course, we all say things that we do not mean sometimes and drinking blood for the first time is hard. I remember my first time…I screamed and shouted and protested so much, my mentor was less than pleased." Both of them chuckled at this and Crepsley wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You have nothing to be fearful of, I promise that you will be fine and you will never be one of _them_." The last part was said with hatred and distaste as he squeezed her shoulders. "You do believe me?"

"Of course I do." She did and her eyes convinced Crepsley that she was telling the truth. "Thanks Mr Crepsley." Wrapping her arms around his waist, she offered him a quick hug.

"Then tomorrow night we will find you some blood…tomorrow night you will become a real half-vampire." She nodded and Crepsley stood up before helping her to her feet. "Goodnight Roxxi."

"Yeah, goodnight Mr Crepsley." Smiling one last time, she headed out of the tent and across the Cirque.

On her way back to the tent, she met up with Evra who smiled and grabbed her hand. "From that smile I take it things are okay between you and Crepsley."

She looked back over her shoulder and the tent and grinned even wider. "Things are just fine Evra." Turning to face the snake boy, she rose up on tiptoes and placed a quick kiss to his cheek; missing his slight blush. "Thank you for being there." He smiled back and ducked his head in embarrassment as she pulled him back to their tent. "What are you still doing up anyway?"

"Oh I uh…I wanted to see how it went and if you were okay." Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Well thank you, that was really sweet of you." Together they headed for their tent to tell Darren that Roxxi was ready to finally give in and become a real half-vampire. She would have to give up the last bit of her humanity but if it meant protecting the Cirque and protecting Crepsley then she was more than willing to try. This was her life now, there was no going back and she wasn't even sure if she would want to anymore.

**A/N: **Well there you go folks, another chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought. More training in store for Roxxi in the next chapter as well as the return of a few odd dreams and a certain man with a heart shaped watch.


	9. Humanity Tested

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I also do not own the board game 'Monopoly' or 'Converse'. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books and the movie.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

Humanity Tested

The next night came all too quickly and before Roxxi knew it, it was time to head over to Crepsley's tent. Sighing, she double checked her watch and took in a shaky breath. "I'd uh…I'd better go and find Crepsley."

Evra offered her a reassuring smile and when she looked at Rebecca, the younger girl nodded. "You can do it Roxxi."

"I…I know I just…" Trailing off, she shook her head but smiled when Rebecca leant over and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks…wish me luck."

"Good luck." Both Evra and Rebecca spoke at the same time, chuckling when Roxxi rolled her eyes. Standing up, she said her goodbyes to them both and left them to finish their game of 'Monopoly'. She had become bankrupt ten minutes earlier so had taken to helping Rebecca in her quest to buy every property on the board in a bid for 'World Domination' and would have carried on had it not been time for her lessons.

The walk to Crepsley's tent seemed to last forever but eventually she stopped in front of it and looked up at the opening. Taking a deep breath, she entered but wished that she had had the sense to knock when she caught sight of Crepsley getting dressed. He was stood in the middle of the tent wearing nothing but a pair of bright red boxers with little spiders dotted on them. Whirling around, Crepsley let out an 'anything-other-than-masculine' shriek as Roxxi dramatically covered her eyes. "I am so sorry Mr Crepsley, I'll just wait outside." Turning, her hands still covering her eyes, she tried to exit the tent but instead walked straight into a post; hitting her head as she did so. Falling backwards, she groaned as she landed on her behind and uncovered her eyes, using one hand to feel for any bumps on her forehead and allowing the other to fall to the floor.

"Roxxi?" She said nothing and Crepsley walked over to her side before crouching down beside her. "Roxxi?" The younger half-vampire lay on the floor, eyes closed and lips twisted into a pained grimace. Gently prising her hand away from her head, he sighed when he saw a little blood trickling from an open wound. Quickly spitting into his hand, he rubbed his palms together then set about sealing the cut.

A minute or two passed until her eyes fluttered open and she winced slightly. Blinking, she tried to focus and eventually, the blurry figure became clear and she realised that she was staring at Crepsley's still-bare chest. "Hmm…what happened?" She tried to sit up and after a few failed attempts Crepsley stopped chuckling and helped her into a sitting position.

"You hit your head." She mumbled something under her breath but Crepsley missed whatever it was. "You are certainly getting good at earning your scars."

Her hand flew to her forehead and she looked up at Crepsley, horrified. "You really think it will scar?"

Smiling softly, Crepsley shook his head. "Probably not, it was not deep enough." She out a sigh of relief, trying to then cover it up with a sigh. "Do you remember anything?" She slowly nodded but remained silent as it flooded back. "Good, no lasting repercussions then. Can you see okay?" Again she nodded and he held up two fingers in front of her eyes. "How many?"

"Two." He nodded, satisfied with her answer, then stood up and walked back over to his coffin. "What time are we meeting Darren?"

"We are not." She turned to face him, chuckling to herself as he stepped into his red trousers…one leg at a time. It had always been something that her father had said to her; when she was talking about celebrities she would like to meet he would simply reply 'they aren't much different from us Roxxi, they still put their pants on one leg at a time'. Glancing over at his newest apprentice, he raised an eyebrow. "Roxxi?" She broke from her trance and he sighed. "Are you sure that you are alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." It was clear form the look on his face that he didn't believe her. "Sorry, I was just thinking back to something my daddy used to say." Crepsley nodded and picked up his shirt, slipping his arms into the sleeves. "What were you saying about Darren?"

"We are not meeting up with Darren tonight. He is going to spend the night here at the Cirque; he is having a break from training." Buttoning the last button, he retrieved his cape and draped it over his shoulders before looking at Roxxi whose eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. "Something wrong?"

"I just assumed that Darren would want to…feed…too." It sounded weird saying that; saying that they were going to feed when as a matter of fact, they were going to go and drink someone's blood.

"Darren fed last night before we returned to the Cirque." She nodded and Crepsley walked over to her, holding out his hand. "Are you ready?"

She took his outstretched hand and he helped her to her feet. "I suppose." In truth she wasn't ready but then again, she wasn't sure she ever would be.

"Well then, we had better get going." Dropping her hand, he headed out of the tent and waited for her to follow.

The walk took longer than Roxxi had thought that it would and she was glad that she had worn flat shoes. Looking down at her 'Converse' clad feet, she smiled; Danny had always said that sensible shoes should be more important than heels for a girl. Eventually they stopped walking and Roxxi looked up at the block of flats in front of them. "Why did you bring me here?" Still looking at the flats, she raised an eyebrow.

"We are going to feed of course." Walking up to the wall, he stuck his nails in and turned back to look at Roxxi. "Climb on my back, your nails are not strong enough yet." Doing as she was told, she walked up to Crepsley and jumped up onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck as he started to scale the wall.

Crepsley decided on a flat on the fifth floor, Roxxi counted the windows as they climbed, and carefully pushed the window up. It had already been half open, that was the reason that Crepsley had chosen it, and when they entered the room, both of them heard humming coming from the shower. "I take it that's our…" Trailing off, Roxxi found that she had no idea how to finish her sentence. What was the man? Was he a victim? Was he a meal ticket?

"Yes but do not worry no harm will come to him." Whispering back, he tried to convince the female half-vampire that his intention was not to kill. Roxxi slowly nodded, she was here now so she had no choice but to trust Crepsley. Together they waited in silence and when the man came out of the shower, Crepsley quickly knocked him out. Dragging the man over to the bed, he lay him down and stuck a nail into his shoulder before pulling back and looking at Roxxi. "Take a sip, it is surprisingly refreshing."

Taking a few cautious steps, she made her way over to the bed and looked down at the sleeping man then at Crepsley. "I…I can't do it. I can't let go of the one thing that…" A tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at the stranger.

"Roxxi, you have to." Standing up, Crepsley wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You will die without human blood…please just take some." Looking down at her, he waited for a reaction.

After a couple of minutes thought, she knelt down beside the bed and looked at the small cut. Leaning over, she did as Crepsley told her but inside she was sickened by her actions. It had been strange and the blood had tasted coppery in her mouth, almost making her sick at one point. When she pulled back, a couple of drops of the man's blood dripping from her lips, she allowed the rest of her tears to fall. She no longer cared that Crepsley was in the room and that he could see everything. She watched numbly as Crepsley licked the cut, sealing the skin…covering the fact that two vampires had just fed off him. When he had finished, he turned and smiled slightly. "Come, we must go." Standing up, he made his way over to the window but sighed when he realised that Roxxi had not followed.

She was still huddled in the corner of the room, arms wrapped around her legs and forehead resting on her knees. Tears dripped down her cheeks and onto the fabric of her jeans, leaving dark blue patches in their wake. "I…I'm not like you…I'm an animal." She refused to meet Crepsley's eyes.

"That is not true." Quickly crossing the room, he knelt beside her. "We will talk about this later but for now we need to leave before he wakes up." Soon the man would wake up and when he did, Crepsley had no desire to still be there. Roxxi shook her head and Crepsley groaned. Standing up, he took Roxxi with him, one arm around her back and the other under her knees. He then carried her out of the room and quickly made his way down the stairs. Using the elevator was not an option because although it would be quicker, Crepsley was claustrophobic when it came to elevators. Once they were a safe distance away from the block of flats, he set her down near a tree and sat down beside her. "We need to talk."

"What is there to talk about?" Her voice was cold and emotionless.

"You know what." She said nothing and he sighed. "Roxxi, what happened tonight was perfectly normal, it…"

He was quickly interrupted as her eyes locked with his and she glared at him. "Except it wasn't normal Crepsley! There is nothing normal about what I just did! I'm sick…I'm no better than the vampaneze." The last part escaped as a whisper and she averted her gaze, ashamed and embarrassed.

"How do you figure that out?" His voice was filled with amazement, how could she possibly compare herself to _them_?

"The taste of it…I liked it." She stared at the grass beneath her, there was no way she would ever be able to look her mentor in the eye again. Crepsley chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to rest beside him. "What's so funny?" Her eyes narrowed and her voice took on a warning tone.

"That is what you are worried about?" She nodded but said nothing. "You have nothing to worry about…I also like the taste of blood." Her head finally snapped up as an expression of shock passed across her face. "Do not look so shocked, almost every vampire does; it is nothing to be ashamed of."

"B…but I thought that if I liked it then…" Trailing off, she couldn't bring herself to say the last part…to say that she thought he had made a mistake in blooding her.

"Do you crave it madly?" She shook her head and he smiled, allowing one hand to find its way into her black-red curls. "Then do not worry, you are not a vampaneze at heart. They crave blood all of the time, they gorge themselves with it and they drain their victims dry." She still remained silent. "I swear on pain of death that you are not like they are. You would be a very odd vampire if you did not like the taste."

"Really?" Quiet and disbelieving, it tore his heart in two.

"Really." Tightening his arm around her to keep her warm against the now-chilly air, he nodded. "Darren and I both like it. One thing does puzzle me." She hummed in response so he continued. "Back at the flat you were almost sick, I thought that you did not like the taste but if you did then why did it make you retch?"

"I felt sick but not from the blood…from my actions. I was watching the last bit of my humanity slip away and…it scared me." Very rarely had she admitted that she was scared but since becoming a creature of the night, she had shown weakness several times and discovered that it was not necessarily a bad thing to get a little frightened.

"Do you not see…?" He started to ask the question but was interrupted.

"See what?"

"See that you are still part human." She raised an eyebrow and he crossed his other arm over his chest so that his hand could come to rest above Roxxi's heart. "In here you still have some of the morals that you had as a human and you will still feel love and pain…you will never lose that no matter what happens." Sensitivity was not Crepsley's style but something inside of him told him that Roxxi needed a shoulder to cry on and he was the only one here so…

"You really think so?" There was hope in her voice and he nodded, indicating that he did indeed believe every word he was saying. "Maybe you're right."

"Maybe?" There was a hint of teasing lacing his words and his efforts were finally rewarded when she smiled. "So, are you going to be okay and stop blaming yourself for being the way you are?" She nodded slightly and he squeezed her shoulders. "Being a half-vampire is nothing to be ashamed of. I know that it feels like your humanity is being tested to breaking point but it will get easier…being a vampire will get easier."

"Did…did you find it hard too?" He nodded in response and she chuckled slightly. "I can't imagine you being scared."

"I was terrified but my mentor helped me through it…just as I helped Darren…just as I will help _you_."

She nodded and finally met his eyes, her own twinkling in the moonlight. "Thank you." He simply nodded and looked up at the stars. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is just fine." And for those few peaceful moments, it was. "We should head back, it may take a while and I do not wish to be out here when the sun comes up." Agreeing that she also did not want to see her mentor fry, she got to her feet and held a hand out to Crepsley before helping him up too.

"To the Cirque?" She raised an eyebrow and waited for her mentor to answer.

"To the Cirque." Together they headed for the camp grounds but when Roxxi shivered, Crepsley stopped and took his cape off, draping it over her shoulders. "This should keep you a little warmer."

She nodded and smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

For now everything was perfect in Roxxi's little world but as thoughts whirled around her head, she knew that it wouldn't last long. She was here to protect Crepsley but since he had blooded her the dreams had stopped. Soon Crepsley's life would come to an end and if the dreams didn't start up again then there would be nothing she could do to save him. Looking at her mentor, she sighed…somehow she would rescue Crepsley from the hands of death, even if it meant that _she_ would die trying. She was broken from her thoughts as Crepsley spoke up. "You are very quiet is everything alright?"

"It will be Mr Crepsley…it will be." Taking hold of one of Crepsley's hands, Roxxi found herself wondering exactly whom she was trying to convince.

**A/N: **Another chapter up for you folks. Pretty please give me your thoughts in the form of a nice little review because my chapters get lonely without them ;)

XxxoxxX


	10. Natural Born Fighter

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books and the movie.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

Natural Born Fighter

A week had passed…seven dreamless nights…and Roxxi was starting to worry that her dreams would never return. She had wondered if the lack of blood she had been drinking was a factor so when Crepsley had asked her the evening before if she wanted to go and feed with him and Darren, she had said yes. It was still an odd sensation but the second time had indeed proven to be easier than the first and this time she hadn't felt quite as bad at her actions. Pulling on a clean t-shirt, Roxxi sighed to herself. Tonight she was having her first lesson since that fateful night she had snapped her nails and sliced her fingers. Crepsley had told her to have a break from physical training to let her nails heal and, now that she was drinking blood, strengthen. Instead, he had been teaching her about the vampire ways and traditions; lecturing her but allowing her to ask her own questions in between.

Heading out of the tent, she passed Darren and Rebecca who were sitting on a log eating dinner together. Vampires still ate normal food and Crepsley had told her that they needed a balance between nutritional human food and blood. Smiling at them, she waved but didn't stop to talk; not wanting to intrude on what Darren was clearly trying to make a date. Very rarely did Darren and Rebecca leave the Cirque camp grounds and in the week and a half that she had been there she had only once seen them go for a walk in a field not far away. Quickly making her way to Crepsley's tent, she knocked and waited; she had learnt her lesson last time and had no desire to replay it.

"Who is it?" Crepsley's voice was strained and Roxxi's eyes widened at the sound. Had she interrupted something?

"It uh…it's me Roxxi." She tried to keep the horror out of her voice, what if he was busy doing something…something with someone? Pushing that thought aside, she tried not to gag.

"Oh good, perhaps you can come in and help me with something." The voice was still strained and Roxxi's eyes impossibly widened again.

"I uh…I'll wait if you're…busy." She had no idea what was going on but was quite sure that she wanted no part of it.

"No do not be silly, come in." He let out a small grunt but said nothing else.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" All sorts of lurid thoughts ran through her mind; she was eighteen years old and although she was less clued up on vampires than Darren, she was a hell of a lot more clued up on human…activity.

"Please." He quietly mumbled something which she didn't catch and then groaned loudly.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and entered the tent; dreading what was going to greet her. "Is everything okay Mr Crepsley?" Her eyes remained closed as she stumbled slightly before regaining her balance.

"No." The reply was muffled and when Roxxi cracked one eye open slightly, she burst into a fit of laughter. "It is not funny." His voice was still muffled but this time annoyance laced his words. "Would you please help me?"

"Okay, okay…keep your cape on." Chuckling, she stepped forwards and gently set about untangling the vampire who was flailing his arms above his head and trying to free himself from his cloak. Once she had disentangled him, she rolled her eyes and smiled. "Dare I ask?"

"I would rather you did not." She nodded and muttered something under her breath but fake-winced when Crepsley spoke up. "I heard that."

"Sorry." Mumbling her apology, she lowered her head…to hide her smirk.

"Are you ready for training?" She nodded but said nothing in response as Crepsley straightened his cape. "Very good, follow me." Heading out of the tent, he led Roxxi into the forest where they had tried to train the week before.

Half an hour later, Roxxi was starting to get frustrated. She had tried to copy Crepsley's actions, tried to slice into the tree bark and only succeeded in making a fool of herself. Every time she tried she got her nails stuck and although she hadn't broken any of them, she was starting to get sick of having to dislodge them. Once again glaring at the tree, she slashed at the bark and groaned.

"You are not concentrating." Crepsley's voice was also irritated; not because she couldn't do it but because she didn't seem to realise how important this skill was. If she were to be attacked in the middle of nowhere, the chances were that her nails would be her only weapon.

"I'm trying!" Snapping, she whirled around to face him.

"Try harder." His voice was calm as he offered her a challenging look. She muttered something under her breath but did as he told her and once again swung her nails at the tree. "Focus all your anger on the tree and remember to extend your fingers."

"I am extending them, it just isn't working." Annoyance filled her voice as she once again got her nails stuck in the bark. "This stupid goddamn tree won't…"

She was interrupted as Crepsley cut in. "It is not the tree…it is you. You need to try harder Roxxi; this is an important skill for a vampire."

Sighing, she took a deep, calming breath. "Maybe I'm not cut out for being a vampire." Her voice was quiet and ashamed, she was almost certain that Darren would have picked up the skill straight away but she was useless.

"Well whether you are or not, I have blooded you…it is too late. You will have to learn." Crepsley's words were meant to anger her into fighting against the tree; he had every faith in her but _she_ needed to gain some belief in _herself_. Once again sighing, she let Crepsley's words wash over her and pointed her nails. Lashing out, she connected with the tree but once again failed. With a frustrated cry, she walked away from both Crepsley and the tree before she hurt someone…namely Crepsley. "You cannot run away from this Roxxi!" Calling out after his young assistant, he rolled his eyes.

"I'm not; I'll be back in a second I just need to calm down." Walking away, she disappeared behind a few trees as Crepsley smirked; a wicked grin crossing his lips.

Silently chasing after her, he waited for the right moment and pounced; pinning her to a tree. One hand wrapped around her throat as he lifted her from the ground. This was not how he had wanted to teach her the lesson but if it was the only way then it would have to be done. "You are going to have to learn to fight your own battles Miss Clarke."

She gasped, trying to breathe but upon finding that she couldn't she started to panic. "Ouch, Crepsley let go…you're hurting me." She begged him to release her throat but when his grip tightened, she snarled. "Bastard, I said let go!"

"No, you are going to fight your way free." Smirking, he leant in close to her face. "Or are you afraid that you will lose the fight?"

Spitting at him, she kicked his leg hard and caught him by surprise. He immediately dropped her to the ground but when she tried to run away, he tripped her up and laughed. "Leave me alone." Wincing, she looked down to find that a sharp branch was now sticking into her leg and blood was dripping from the wound. "Crepsley please…" She looked up at him through green, tear filled eyes. "Let me go."

It saddened Crepsley to see how hurt she was…how betrayed she looked. "I am sorry, I did not want to have to teach you like this but it is the only way." Crouching beside her, he grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet as she let out a pained wail. Thrusting her back against a tree, he pinned her arms above her head. "Now, how are you going to escape?"

"I'm not." Dropping her gaze, she let one lonely tear fall. "Kill me if you must."

"I would never do that." Releasing her, he watched as she fell to the floor in a heap. "One day you will need to protect yourself, I will not always be there. In this life it is 'kill or be killed' Roxxi and the sooner you learn that the better." Turning, he started to walk away.

She looked up and glared at his back, feeling the anger rise up inside of her. Who the hell did he think he was? She was every bit as good as him…every bit as deserving. Pulling herself to her feet, she threw herself at the taller vampire and knocked him to the ground. She then got to her feet and kicked him hard in the stomach. When he got to his knees, he wrapped his arms around his middle and tried to get his breath back but before he had chance, she kicked him to the ground and stuck her nails into his shoulder. He yelped as she painfully twisted and drew blood from her mentor. She then leant in close to his ear and snarled. "I am every bit as deserving of life as you…never forget that." With that she staggered away, slumping against a tree and missing Crepsley's proud smile.

Crepsley meanwhile, pushed himself into a sitting position and started to take care of his wounds; rubbing spit into his cuts and over the spots which he knew would bruise in the morning. He had been shocked at exactly how strong Roxxi was and when she had kicked him he had never expected it to hurt that much. Maybe she was a natural born fighter after all. Once he had taken care of himself, he set off to find his aforementioned assistant. It wasn't difficult to find her because as soon as she pulled the small branch from her leg she let out a wounded cry. When he found her she was leaning against a tree; both hands covering the gash and tears streaming down her cheeks. The cut was deeper than Crepsley had first thought and he felt a stab of guilt when he saw how much blood was flowing from it. Quietly strolling over to her, he sat beside her and sighed. "You should get that seen to."

"What do you want?" Cold and hurt, angry and…betrayed.

"Look, perhaps I came on a little too strong; I sometimes forget that you are a woman…you are different to Darren." Leaning back against the tree, he sighed again. Let me help you."

"I don't need your help and I may be a woman but I am every bit as strong as you and Darren." Her words hit him hard; she reminded him so much of Arra Sails…stubborn, headstrong and tough and at that moment Crepsley realised that someday Roxxi would make a fine vampire. "Being a woman does _not_ make me weaker than you."

Looking down at her he smiled softly and shook his head. "No, it certainly does not." Covering her hands with one of his, his eyes softened. "Let me help you…please." Eventually she nodded and watched as Crepsley used saliva to seal the wound. The pain ceased almost immediately and when he pulled his hand back, he raised an eyebrow. "Better?"

"Yeah…thanks." Looking down at the tiny scar she smiled slightly before looking at her mentor. "Guess I've just earned my first real scar huh?"

He chuckled slightly and reached over with his other hand to wipe away a few stray tears from Roxxi's cheeks. "Yes, I suppose you have." Pausing for a second, he thought before saying. "You will earn plenty more before your time as a vampire comes to an end."

She nodded and looked down at the floor before quietly mumbling. "I'm not sorry."

"For what?" Confusion filled and somewhat naïve, Roxxi had to smile.

"For letting you blood me." After a moment's silence, she looked up and was greeted by a tiny smile.

"In that case, I am not sorry for blooding you." Patting her leg, he chuckled. "Ready to try again?" She raised an eyebrow and he elaborated. "The tree."

She sighed but nodded as Crepsley got to his feet and helped her up. "I suppose so."

Together they walked back through the forest towards the tree which she had been practicing on and this time, her nails went straight through. She may still have a lot to learn but perhaps Crepsley was right; perhaps she was a natural born…vampire. Tonight she would practice and tomorrow, she hoped, the dreams would come back to haunt her because as chilling as they were, they were her last hope and after tonight she had proven to herself that she was no quitter.

**A/N: **Thanks for reading and by now you get the drill…pretty please review and let me know if you liked, loved or hated it.

XxxoxxX


	11. Nightmares in Red

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books and the movie.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support.

The bits in _italics _are Roxxi's dream.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

Nightmares in Red

The next few nights passed the same as the last, Roxxi would train alongside Crepsley and Darren then head back to her tent for a night of dreamless sleep. She was starting to lose hope until the fourth night of her third week came but this time the dream was different and half of her wished that they had never come back. Writhing and moaning in her sleep, she jerked awake when she felt a cool hand on her bare shoulder. Gasping for breath, she bolted upright in bed and came face-to-face with her best friend, Evra Von. "What happened?" Blinking to clear her vision, she straightened the vest top which she had been using a pyjama top and shuffled over to make room for the snake boy to sit down. Looking around, she realised that Darren was still out with Crepsley.

"You were screaming in your sleep, are you okay?" Raising an eyebrow, Evra sat down beside her and waited.

"Yeah…I was…" Trailing off, a tear slipped over her lashes and Evra leant across to wipe it away. "I had a nightmare." Her voice escaped as a quiet whisper and Evra sighed.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" His voice wasn't pushy; if she wanted to then she could but if she didn't then he would let it drop.

"There was so much blood…it was everywhere and I couldn't stop it." Taking a shaky breath, she paused before continuing with the story. "He was dying, he was dying and screaming…he begged them to stop but they wouldn't." Trailing off she looked away, embarrassed and ashamed of her weakness. It was one thing to be scared and upset over training or feeding from a human but to be so shaken up from dreams? That was never her style.

"Who?" She said nothing and Evra laid a hand on her arm. "Who?" Again she wouldn't reply so he sighed. "Okay, you don't wanna tell me…I get it but tell me about the dream?" This time she nodded and turned to face him.

"Okay." The whisper was fearful but she knew that telling someone would help.

_Walking along, Roxxi chuckled and looked up at the stars. She had always loved stars since she was a little girl. "Nice night isn't it?"_

"_Hmm." The mumbled reply was distracted and Roxxi stopped walking._

"_Are you okay?" He said nothing so she tried again. "Look, you've been distracted all night…what's going on with you?"_

"_Nothing, I am just fine." His tone was still distracted and Roxxi rolled her eyes as he continued to walk on ahead of her._

"_Stop lying to me." She stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "Just tell me what's wrong."_

"_Nothing is wrong." He continued to walk in front of her, never once looking back to see that she had stopped._

"_Whatever you say." She muttered something under her breath which he didn't catch before picking up her pace and falling into step beside him. "I'll just have to let it go this once." Reaching over, she grabbed his hand and laced her fingers in his. _

_When he finally looked down at her, he offered a tiny smile. "I will be fine, I just have a lot on my mind lately." She nodded, unconvinced, but decided not to push it. It was a clear night but the air was chilly and she couldn't stop the shiver which ran through her body. "Cold?"_

"_A little bit but I'll be fine." Trying not to shiver, she continued to walk beside him but stopped when he pulled her to a halt. _

"_Here, take this." Taking his coat off, he handed it to Roxxi who slipped her arms through the sleeves and smiled. _

"_Won't you need it?" Looking at him, she realised that he was wearing a long sleeved shirt and considered retracting her question but before she could, he answered her._

"_No, I have sleeves." Offering her a smile, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and the two continued to head home. _

_They had been walking for the best part of half an hour when a couple of boys emerged from a back-alley. Ducking her head, Roxxi avoided them as she pulled him along side her; the last thing she needed right now was a fight. They quickened their pace but Roxxi was forced to stop when she heard one of the boys call out, "Oi, we want a word with you!" Whirling around, she tried to work out who they were but couldn't…she had never seen them before._

"_I'm sorry you must have the wrong person, I've never met you before…I don't…" She was cut off as one of the boys lunged at her and knocked her off balance. "Please d…don't hurt me." Her voice trembled as she saw the blade which was now being held to her throat._

"_I know what you are." He snarled as he aimed the blade above her heart. "So here we are…little vampire…" He was interrupted however, as Roxxi's friend grabbed him and pulled the boy off her._

"_You leave her alone, she has done nothing wrong!" Kicking the boy in the shin, he pushed him to the ground and Roxxi closed her eyes in fear. _

_Time seemed to stop and she had no idea how much of it had passed until she heard a pained cry and when she dared crack one eye open, she gasped in horror. Both boys were now fleeing, clearly shaken by something. Looking around, she felt tears prick her eyes. Crawling over to him, she pulled his head into her lap and tried to stop the blood which was pouring from his chest. "No, don't you dare do this to me. I need you…please don't do this." _

_His lips twitched and his mouth tried to form the words he was looking for but a mist had already covered his eyes and Roxxi knew that he didn't have long left. Summoning all his strength, he managed to whisper the words, "I love you." _

"_I love you too, hold on please." Salty tears fell down her cheeks and into his hair as she rocked him back and forth. "Please you can make it…I know you can." Leaning down she placed a kiss to his forehead but it was too late, his eyes had clouded over and a sliver of blood trickled from his mouth…he was gone. "No." Her whisper was lost in the wind as angry tears fell. "No…not like this."_

By now, tears were flowing and she trailed off as fits of sobs took over. Evra quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and allowed her to collapse against his chest, her tears soaking the front of his t-shirt. He rubbed her arm and cooed reassuring words in her ear but he was sure that she hadn't actually heard any of them. They sat like that for the best part of fifteen minutes, her crying and him trying to make her see that it would all be okay. "Shh, come on it was only a dream. Dream's can't hurt you…right?"

"M…mine c…can." Gasping for breath, she snivelled and tried to stop the tears but they continued to fall.

"How? A dream isn't real it…" He was interrupted as she shook her head.

"I have dreams that…that m…mean something. That's why Crepsley b…blooded me." Evra's eyes widened as she confessed that it was her dreams which would enable her to save Crepsley.

"Well isn't the dream a good thing then because now you know how they're going to kill him." She shook her head and Evra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't get it, why not?"

Sniffing, she looked up at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Because it isn't Crepsley that died in my dream…it was James." Her voice was quiet and scared but Evra heard each word clearly.

"Oh my…you have to tell Crepsley." She shook her head and he sighed. "Look, I know Crepsley can be pretty scary sometimes but if you tell him then he'll help you. He's a good guy really." Squeezing her shoulders, he waited for her to say something.

"I'm scared Evra." He hadn't been expecting that one. "What if I can't stop it in time? I don't even know when it's gonna happen so how the hell am I supposed to stop it?"

"I…I don't know Roxxi." For once Evra didn't have any comforting words because he knew that she was right. "But I do know that whatever happens…I'll be here for you." Dropping a kiss into her hair, he pulled her in closer and allowed her to snuggle into his chest. Of all the members of the Cirque, Roxxi was closest to Evra. She wasn't sure how it had happened but he had become her best friend and suddenly she couldn't imagine her life without him.

"Thank you." Her voice was croaky now but the sobs had stopped which made Evra smiled slightly. He said nothing, instead dropping another kiss into her hair and resting his chin on top of her head. "You really think I should tell Crepsley?" He hummed in response and she sighed. "Maybe you're right." Once again, he hummed. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course." They talked for a while, Evra trying to cheer her up and Roxxi smiling at his awful jokes even though she found very few of them funny. Their plan was to stay awake until Crepsley and Darren came home but when Darren returned to his tent early the next morning, he found them curled up on Roxxi's bed fast asleep. That night Roxxi was plagued with no more nightmares but the previous one had been enough to make her realise that as long as she was still alive, her friends were in danger. This wasn't all about Crepsley…not anymore.

**A/N: **Sorry this chapter was a little shorter than the rest but hopefully I will update again soon. Thanks for reading and pretty please review and let me know what you thought…they have been dwindling lately I have noticed.

XxxoxxX


	12. Confessions of a Scared Half Vampire

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly I do not own Cirque du Freak or any of the cirque characters though I would love to have my very own Larten Crepsley. I do however own Roxxi, James, Leila, Sienna and Danny.

**SUMMARY:** Roxxi Clarke is special; she has a gift and that gift may be the one thing to keep Crepsley alive. When Mr Crepsley realises that Roxxi is special, he tells her that her power must be used to fulfil her destiny but can Roxxi really make the ultimate sacrifice to save the orange haired man she has been dreaming about since she was a little girl?

**A/N: **This is not based after any specific book but does contain references from the books and the movie.

Assumes that Darren has not been taken to Vampire Mountain.

Thanks for the reviews so far, it's nice to know that I have your support and sorry for the long wait for this chapter.

**TITLE:** A Change in Destiny

Confessions of a Scared Half-Vampire

The next morning, Roxxi woke up with two scaly arms wrapped around her and waist and long locks of green-yellow hair tickling her shoulder. Blinking to clear her vision, she tried to untangle herself from the snake-boy but his grip tightened slightly as he snuggled into her back. Sighing, she tried to hide her smile before looking round the tent. Darren was still fast asleep, world war three could have taken place and he wouldn't have flinched. After a couple of minutes trying to untangle herself from Evra, she managed to turn in his arms to face him. "Evra?" She felt a little guilty at waking him but knew that they both had chores to do and the little people would be getting hungry. He muttered something under his breath which Roxxi couldn't quite catch before falling silent once again. "I beg your pardon…didn't catch that."

"Five more minutes." This time the mumble was louder and she chuckled.

"No, we have to feed the little people this morning because Darren did it yesterday." Evra made no effort to move and Roxxi rolled her eyes. "If we don't go and feed them then they'll come in here and eat you."

"They'll eat you first." His eyes remained closed but a smile crossed his lips.

"Not if I leave you here and go and hide in Crepsley's tent." Her plan worked and his eyes slowly cracked open, one at a time so that he could adjust to the light.

"Okay, you win." She smirked and he chuckled before untangling himself from her and sitting up. Stretching, he looked back down at her and sighed. "You still need to go and speak to Crepsley."

Her smile faded and she nodded. "I know, I'll go later on tonight though…I don't wanna wake him up." Evra nodded and shuffled out of the way so that she could sit up. "Will you still come with me?" He nodded and she smiled slightly. "Thanks." Standing up, she looked down at Evra and raised an eyebrow. "You gonna sit there all day or are you gonna move so I can straighten my bed?"

Standing up, he sheepishly smiled. "Sorry, I'll be in my hammock." Shuffling over to his own sleeping place, he smiled affectionately at Bippo who was curled up in the centre of it.

After straightening her bed, she looked over at Evra. "What's it like outside this morning?"

Evra quickly headed over to the opening of the tent and looked out, shivering as the cold air hit his bare, scaly chest. "Umm…dry but freezing." Roxxi nodded and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved top as Evra also looked for something to keep him warm. He was different to Roxxi and Darren in the sense that he didn't feel the cold as much but even he had to admit that it was cold that morning. After finding a long-sleeved shirt, pair of jeans and scarf (all of which Darren had gotten him for Christmas the year before) he was ready to do his chores. The morning was passed in comfortable conversation as both teens avoided the subject of the night before. Roxxi made Evra promise not to tell Darren and, although reluctant, he had eventually agreed.

Before she knew it, it was time for dinner and that could only mean one thing…time for Crepsley to get up. Lately the vampire had taken to eating with the other members of the Cirque. He would still go once a week to feed, preferring to have a little blood every week rather than a lot once a month as he had told her some vampires did but he ate normal food with the other performers as well. He said that his way was easier because it meant less travelling and searching for people…taking a lot could kill a person so when a vampire fed once a month he had to find at least three or four humans. Feeding once a week meant one trip and one human.

Walking back into her shared tent, she looked around for Darren and smiled when she saw the note which he had left on her bed. She could barely make out the words in his scrawled handwriting but after a couple of minutes managed to decipher the message which read, 'Gone for a walk with Rebecca…see you at dinner'. Chuckling to herself, she placed the note on the small crate which she used as a bedside table and started to look for something warmer to wear. She was freezing as they had been out around the camp grounds all morning and although Evra had said that he was fine, she had felt the cold a lot more. Eventually she found a hooded sweatshirt and pulled it over her head before once again heading out into the cold. She quickly crossed the Cirque and stopped in front of Crepsley's tent, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves.

Knocking, she waited for a response but jumped when Evra spoke up behind her. "Hey, still want me to come in with you?" Raising an eyebrow, he waited for her reply.

"Uh…I…I think I need to do this on my own. Is that okay?" She was terrified of hurting Evra's feelings, she trusted him completely but she knew that if she allowed him to go with her then she would give up and back out.

"Of course it is, I'll be in our tent though if you change your mind." She nodded and Evra gave her a quick hug before leaving her to knock once again, this time a little louder.

This time she got a reply. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Roxxi." Her voice was quiet and had Crepsley not had strengthened hearing; he would have missed her reply.

"Come in." His reply was muffled and when Roxxi walked in she found a shirtless Crepsley trying to rub spit into a wound on his back. The key word being 'trying' and Roxxi had to chuckle when she realised that he couldn't reach. "You had better not be laughing at me Miss Clarke."

"I'm not." Coughing to disguise her laugh, she walked further into the tent and smiled slightly. "Anything I can do to help?"

Crepsley gave up with a defeated sigh and turned to look at her. "Yes actually, could you please rub some spit into it for me?"

"You realise how gross a request that is right?" She looked up at him and sighed when he raised an eyebrow, silently asking whether she would help or not. "Okay, okay fine…I'll help." He smiled and nodded before instructing her to hold out her hand and telling her not to slap him for what he was about to do. She reluctantly promised not to and when he was sure that she would keep said promise, he spat into her palm. It took all of her willpower not to reach out and hit him but she kept the vow and rubbed it into his back, watching as the cut sealed over almost instantly. "So, how did you get this anyway?"

"Oh, I got a little careless and a lady scratched me when I asked her if she would like to accompany me for drinks." Roxxi didn't bother to hide the chuckle this time and when Crepsley turned to face her, she noticed that his face was almost as red as his favourite cape which was hung up in the corner.

"I see, take it she sad no?" He nodded as she shook her head in amusement.

"So, what may I help you with this evening?" He had a feeling that the visit to his tent was not to ask how his previous evening had been.

"I uh…I've started having the dreams again." She lowered her eyes, staring at the floor instead of at her mentor.

"I see…are they about…?" He trailed off, not quite knowing what he wanted to say.

Roxxi however, knew what he was trying to say and shook her head. "Worse."

"How can they be worse?" He sounded almost hurt by her words; did she really think that his life was worthless?

Picking up on this, she sighed and placed a hand on his arm. "I didn't mean it like that…the dreams weren't about you, they were about James." Finally plucking up the courage, she looked up at Crepsley and tried to hold back scared tears.

"Your…friend…from university?" As soon as the question escaped his lips he realised it was a stupid one.

"Yeah, my ex boyfriend." Had the situation not been so serious, Crepsley's refusal to use the word 'boyfriend' would have been comical.

"I think you should tell me about this dream then." Grabbing her hand he pulled her over to his coffin, closed the lid and sat on top of it before telling her to do the same. She did as he told her and proceeded to tell him about the previous night's nightmare. By the end of it, she had lost any composure she had had before and was sobbing uncontrollably. Shuffling closer to her, Crepsley wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. He had learned over his time with his eldest assistant that sometimes hugs were the only way to comfort a person and although they used to make him feel exceedingly awkward, he was getting used to the physical contact now. Rubbing circles on her back, he sighed into her hair. Never once did he tell her that it would all be okay but Roxxi was glad that he didn't because she knew that Crepsley wasn't a liar and at that moment in time nothing was certain anymore.

"I'm scared Mr Crepsley." The whisper was almost lost as she dropped her head to his shoulder and snivelled.

"I know you are and you have every right to be." Tightening his arm around her trembling frame, he mirrored the sigh. "You have only had the one dream correct?" She wordlessly nodded and Crepsley smiled slightly. "Then perhaps it is a simple case of you missing him, derived from the fact that you can never see him like that again. In your dream you were together, we both know that this cannot happen because he believes that you are dead." She slowly nodded as he continued his attempt at reassurance. "Not all of your dreams have happened in the past Roxxi, some dreams are expressions of feelings and maybe this one of yours is simply an expression of you missing him."

"I never thought of that." Pulling back slightly to look up at him, she offered him a tiny smile. "I guess it makes sense and like you said, it can't happen because I can never see him again." Crepsley nodded and her smile widened slightly. She missed James every day and not being able to see him again upset her but now she was relieved because if she could never see him again…the dream could never come true.

"Exactly, I am sure the boy will be just fine." He smiled back and Roxxi believed that what he was saying seemed to be truthful. "Have you had any dreams about…me?" He couldn't help himself, he needed to know.

"Not yet." He slowly nodded and took hold of one of his hands. "Don't worry though…I won't let you die Mr Crepsley."

"I know you will not…I trust you completely." This took her by surprise but she nodded anyway and tried to hide her shock. "Who knows, perhaps you simply being here has already altered my destiny."

"Hmm…maybe."

They sat in silence for the best part of half an hour before Crepsley spoke up. "Do you feel up to a little training tonight?"

"Sure…it might take my mind off everything." Crepsley nodded and pulled away from Roxxi before standing up and crossing the tent to retrieve his shirt. He then slipped it on and buttoned it up as Roxxi closed her eyes and sighed quietly. What Crepsley had said made sense but why did she still have that sinking feeling in her stomach?

Outside of the tent stood a shocked, twenty year old boy with piercing emerald eyes and jet black hair. "How…?" Staring at the tent, he blinked and shook his head. It was definitely her; he would recognise that long, silky hair and soft voice anywhere. Confusion filled his eyes; he had been to her funeral…he had seen her lifeless body in the coffin but if that were true then how was she here? His girlfriend, his beautiful Roxxi Clarke had faked her death and run away to join the Circus and that hurt him more than anything. He hesitated for a minute before stepping forward and knocking, hoping that he wouldn't regret this.

"Who is it?" A male voice answered his knock and James froze. Was this why she had left? Had she fallen for someone else in the space of a few hours whilst he was at work? Had she realised that the man in her dreams with orange hair was whom she had always been connected to?

Summoning up all his courage, he spoke up. "I need to speak to Roxxi."

Inside the tent it was Roxxi's turn to freeze. Looking at Crepsley through terrified eyes, she whispered. "It's James…the dream _is_ gonna come true isn't it?"

**A/N:** Thanks for reading and pretty please review and let me know what you thought. Reviews have been dwindling for this story so if people aren't enjoying it anymore then I need to know so I know whether to continue. Anyway, pretty please review and hopefully I will update soon.

XxxoxxX


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